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Letter to Thomas McCrae, March 22, 1911
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A major figure in modern medical history, Sir William Osler is well known as a scientific researcher, a great medical pedagogue, a humanist, and an advocate for a patient-centered approach to medicine.
Born in Bond Head, Ontario, in 1849, Osler earned his medical degree at McGill University, and later taught at McGill's Faculty of Medicine from 1874 until 1884. Osler then joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he was appointed Chair of Clinical Medicine before becoming Physician-in-Chief and one of the "Big Four" founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital and medical school in Baltimore – the first school of its kind to train medical students in a modern residency program. Osler finished his career as Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where he also devoted time to his passion for book collecting. His library of nearly eight thousand rare and historic works of the history of medicine and science is known as the Bibliotheca Osleriana, documented by a published catalogue of the same title.
Sir William Osler was knighted in 1911 in recognition of his contributions to medical science and teaching. His library of 7600 volumes on the history of medicine and science bequeathed to McGill University forms the nucleus of the present Osler Library of the History of Medicine. His life and contributions to medicine are described in detail in the Pulitzer-Prize winning biography "Life of Sir William Osler" (London: Oxford University Press, 1925) by Harvey Cushing.
Letter to Thomas McCrae from William Osler, S.S. Princy Heinrich. Details on his trip in Egypt. Mentions the dragoman. Mention of the medical condition in Cairo. Details on cases of Bilharzia and on Looss' specimens of anchylosma. The teaching is good but the clinics and laboratories are deficient. Mention of Phillips Day and Richards. Rheumatism and chorea are rare. Typhoid and tuberculosis are common. Bilharzia and hook-worm are the exceptional features. Government should crusade like in Porto Rico. Details and comments on the life habits of the inhabitants. Political opinion. Discussion of the cases of James Ross, Kendall, and Wm Cassatt who travel with him. Mentions a Raynaud's case at Luxor. Word on the text-book for October 1912. Mentions the Higginbothams, Sorry for Hurd's resignation. Health stat
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Cushing's colour code: White (Correspondence)