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William Osler (1849-1919) is widely regarded as one of the most influential physicians of the late 19th and early 20th century and a key figure in the history of medicine. Besides his research activities and his dedicated scientific work, Osler s greatest contribution to the medical world has been the system of residency which he developed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, thus introducing a new and deeply humanistic approach to the strictly scientific realm of traditional medicine. Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), a former student and close friend of Osler s and a pioneer of neurosurgery, has himself become an icon of modern medicine. He was one of the first physicians to use x-rays for diagnosing brain tumours, he developed revolutionary methods of blood pressure measurement, and he discovered Cushing s syndrome, the first autoimmune disease identified in a human being. This monumental biography earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1926.

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