intramedullary Steinmann pin. Satisfied with their result, but not with the pin itself, they pursued an interest in the problem of intramedullary fixation, which led to the development of a new type of pin and a technique for using the pin in a wide variety of fractures. They pointed out the value of using straight pins in curved bones and curved pins in straight bones to obtain better fixation. They were the first surgeons in the United States to have an impact on and to make a substantial contribution to the technique of intramedullary fixation.
Their father, J.H. Rush (1868–1931), was a native Mississipian who established his surgical practice in Meridian, Mississippi, in 1910, after previously practicing there as a dentist. His sons joined him in his practice. H. Lowry Rush (1897–1965) was a medical graduate of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, and while he assisted his brother Leslie with the fracture work, his main interest was in gynecological surgery. Leslie V.
Rush, was born in 1905 and obtained his medical education at Tulane University. He practiced general surgery with an emphasis on trauma and a continuing interest in the treatment of fractures for 55 years.
ing to Garrison and Morton, this is, if not the first, one of the first pathologic descriptions of osteonecrosis in medical literature. It was widely read in its day and its importance is attested to by the title page, which in itself is of some biblio- philic interest. It had been the property of the New York Hospital library (the oldest in New York City) and came from them to the then newly created New York Academy of Medicine library in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It should be called to the reader’s attention that osteonecrosis in Russell’s day was chiefly septic and the distinction between septic and aseptic necrosis was not emphasized until Axhausen’s work some more than half a century later.
292 Who’s Who in Orthopedics
James RUSSELL
1755–1836
James Russell was the first professor of clinical surgery at the University of Edinburgh. In 1794 he published a book on Necrosis of Bone. Accord-
Robert Hamilton RUSSELL
1860–1933
Robert Hamilton Russell was born in England and received his medical education at King’s College, London. There, he came under the influence of Joseph Lister, for whom he worked as a house officer. He also visited hospitals on the Continent.
After obtaining his qualifications as a surgeon, Russell practiced in London for 2 years before emigrating to Australia. As one of his associates, C.H. Fagge wrote: “He never told us why he was going to leave England, but we knew that he went to the beautiful climate of Australia to escape from a fear of tuberculosis.” Although he made occasional trips to the United States and Europe,
and served in England and France during World War I, his career was in Australia. He became an important figure in the surgical scene in Mel- bourne as a practitioner, teacher and leader in the surgical community. He became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1924 and was a founding member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927. His description of a method of skin traction for the treatment of frac- tures of the femur made his name well known to surgeons throughout the world. Although he became quite disabled in his later years, he retained his ability as a pianist, a talent he used to entertain his many friends. He was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 1933.
Policlinic Hospital, holding an overlapping appointment as assistant professor of surgery at Rush Medical College from 1916 to 1918. In 1916, he became professor and head of the depart- ment of orthopedic surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, a position he retained until 1919. He then transferred to North- western University, where he was associate pro- fessor of orthopedic surgery from 1919 to 1921 and professor and head of the department until his retirement in 1935.
Dr. Ryerson was always interested in children’s orthopedics. For many years he was attending orthopedic surgeon at the Children’s Memorial Hospital as well as at Cook County Hospital and the Home for Destitute Crippled Children, while he continued his practice at the Policlinic Hospital.
World War I temporarily interrupted his prac- tice and teaching; he entered the service in April 1918 and was discharged as a major on August 7, 1919. While in the armed forces, he also served with the United States Public Health Service.
On his return to civilian life, in addition to his other duties, he served as orthopedic consultant at Hines Veterans Administration Hospital from 1920 to 1928, and in 1922 he became attending orthopedic surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital (now Presbyterian–St. Luke’s), a position he held from 1922 until his retirement in 1949, when he became emeritus orthopedic surgeon.
Dr. Ryerson was elected to membership in the American Orthopedic Association in 1905 and was president of this parent association in 1925.
He was one of the founding members and presi- dent of the Chicago Orthopedic Society. When the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery was founded in 1934, he became a member, was vice president in 1935, and served on the board until 1940. In 1912, Dr. Ryerson was one of the organizers of the Clinical Orthopedic Society; and in 1914 he was president of that association, which was to become the force behind the cre- ation of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Sur- geons was formed in 1933 by a small group of men from the Clinical Orthopedic Society. Dr.
Ryerson was a leader among the Founders Group and was elected first president of the Academy in 1933. He was a constant friend of succeeding presidents and a welcome guest at meetings of the executive committee after his term of office had expired. Dr. Ryerson lived to see the Academy 293
Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Edwin Warner RYERSON
1872–1961
Edwin Warner Ryerson was born on March 14, 1872, in New York City, where he attended school; he was graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1897. He was the house surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital from 1897 to 1898 and then did postgraduate work in Berlin and Vienna. In 1899, he migrated west and began the practice of orthopedic surgery in Chicago.
He was always interested in teaching; his first appointment was that of instructor in the princi- ples of surgery at Rush Medical College, a posi- tion he retained until 1906. From that date until 1935, his teaching career was quite active. He became professor of orthopedic surgery at the
