Surgeons and Neurosurgeons as Nobel Prize Winners
Authors:
doc. MUDr. Ph.D. Jan Chrastina; doc. MUDr. Ph.D. Radim Jančálek; MUDr. Dušan Hrabovský; prof. MUDr. CSc. Zdeněk Novák
Authors‘ workplace:
Neurochirurgická klinika LF MU a FN U sv. Anny v Brně
Published in:
Čas. Lék. čes. 2016; 155: 159-162
Category:
History of Medicine
Overview
Since 1901 Nobel Prize is awarded for exceptional achievements in physics, chemistry, literature, peace, economy (since 1968) and medicine or physiology. The first aim of the paper is to provide an overview of surgeons – winners of Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology. Although the prominent neurosurgeons were frequently nominated as Nobel Prize candidates, surprisingly no neurosurgeon received this prestigious award so far despite that the results of their research transgressed the relatively narrow limits of neurosurgical speciality.
The most prominent leaders in the field of neurosurgery, such as Victor Horsley, Otfrid Foerster, Walter Dandy and Harvey Cushing are discussed from the point of their nominations. The overview of the activity of the Portuguese neurologists and Nobel Prize Winter in 1949 Egas Moniz (occasionally erroneously reported as neurosurgeon) is also provided. Although his work on brain angiography has fundamentally changed the diagnostic possibilities in neurology and neurosurgery, he was eventually awarded Nobel Prize for the introduction of the currently outdated frontal lobotomy.
The fact that none of the above mentioned prominent neurosurgeons has not been recognised by Nobel Prize, may be attributed to the fact that their extensive work cannot be captured in a short summary pinpointing its groundbreaking character.
Keywords:
Nobel Prize, Neurosurgery, Victor Horsley, Harvey Cushing, Walter Dandy, Otfrid Foerster, Egas Moniz
Sources
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Labels
Addictology Allergology and clinical immunology Angiology Audiology Clinical biochemistry Dermatology & STDs Paediatric gastroenterology Paediatric surgery Paediatric cardiology Paediatric neurology Paediatric ENT Paediatric psychiatry Paediatric rheumatology Diabetology Pharmacy Vascular surgery Pain managementArticle was published in
Journal of Czech Physicians
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