Who’s Who in Orthopedics
a panel discussion on amputations in which he had been invited to speak on his unrivalled expe- riences in this field. This occasion carried him back to those days in France over half a century ago.
In Great Britain we have long seen Philip Wilson not only as an outstanding surgical leader in the United States, the doyen of orthopedic surgery, but as a world figure. For us he repre- sented the outward symbol of that “special rela- tionship” between the orthopedic surgeons of our two countries, created in the days of war by Sir Robert Jones and nurtured by Robert Osgood. It is appropriate that Boston has been the cradle of this Anglo-American comradeship, which each year gains new strength in the younger generation of orthopedic surgeons through the visits of the Exchange Fellows.
There are many more facets of the life story of this remarkable man, which for the time being must remain unrecorded. He not only worked hard to the very last of his days, but at times he played hard. As skipper of a schooner with the family as crew, the stories of his exploits and adventures are legendary. Philip Wilson was an incomparable host. In this role he was the civi- lized man par excellence. The memory of the gra- cious hospitality of Philip and Germaine in the penthouse on 14 East 90th Street, New York, will be cherished by many, young and old.
Philip Duncan Wilson died in New York City on May 6, 1969, in his 84th year. And as we try to see Philip Wilson’s life in the whole, of him the words from Tennyson’s Ulysses surely ring true—“I am a part of all that I have met.”
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Julius WOLFF
1836–1902
Julius Wolff was born in West Prussia in 1836 and educated in Berlin at a time when the medical faculty there was one of the best on the Continent.
The subject of his thesis for the Doctor of Medicine degree was suggested to him by the pro- fessor of surgery, Langenbeck. This work on experimental production of bone in animals began a study of the relationship between the anatomy and function of bone that lasted the rest of his life. So absorbed did he become in the subject that he could talk of little else and earned the sobriquet, “Knochen-Wolff” from his col- leagues. After obtaining his medical degree in 1860, he began a general medical practice in Berlin that allowed him ample time to continue with his experiments. He became thoroughly familiar with the work of Hunter, Duhamel, Hailer, Flourens, and others, and repeated exper- iments on labeling growing bone in animals that were fed diets containing madder.
His experiences as a military surgeon in 1864–
1866 led him to give up his general practice and to concentrate on surgery. In spite of his lack of formal training, he became recognized as a com- petent operator and was appointed privatdocent of surgery at the University of Berlin in 1868.
During additional military service in 1870–1871 he was awarded the Iron Cross.
Upon returning to Berlin, he centered his prac-
tice around orthopedic and plastic surgery and
developed a private orthopedic hospital and
clinic. In spite of a busy practice, he continued his
Who’s Who in Orthopedics investigations. To further his studies, he perfected
a method of making extremely thin sections of bone that permitted examination of its trabecular structure. This technique was not supplanted until after the introduction of x-rays. The results of his investigations were published in numerous works, leading to his promotion to extraordinary professor of surgery at the University of Berlin in 1884.
Previous work on the relationship between the form and function of bones, particularly that of Ward (1838) and Meyer (1867), was well known to him, as was the theoretical stress analysis of the femur by Culmann, a Swiss engineer. Build- ing upon the work of his predecessors and his own data, Wolff collected his conclusions in his impor- tant monograph, “Des Gesetz der Transformation der Knochen” (The Law of Bone Transformation) in 1892. This was published under the auspices and at the expense of the Royal Academy of Berlin. In this monograph, what we now know as
“Wolff’s Law” is stated simply: “Every change in the function of a bone is followed by certain def- inite changes in internal architecture and external conformation in accordance with mathematical laws.” In addition to his experimental work, Wolff as an active clinician made significant contribu- tions to the treatment of club foot. He also took part in the development of treatments for hare lip and nasal deformities.
When the University of Berlin decided to establish a professorial chair in orthopedics and a university orthopedic clinic, it was accomplished by absorbing Wolff’s private clinic and appoint- ing him professor and director in 1890. He held this position until his death in 1902.
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