Lewis Albert SAYRE1820–1900

(Anatomy) and Coats Gold Medal of the Calcutta University for original research. Professor Saha was an active member of the Société Interna- tionale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Trauma- tologie and attended many of its meetings, presenting papers on the shoulder.

He was invited by several universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan to deliver lectures about his work on the shoulder joint.

position in an American medical school. In addi- tion to his practice, Sayre had the energy to serve as the health officer for the City of New York from 1860 to 1866. In this capacity, he made great improvements in public health, particularly because he recognized the contagious nature of cholera. His activity in the public sphere reached its apex in 1880 when he became president of the American Medical Association, the only orthope- dic surgeon to be so honored. During his tenure in office, he gave strong support for the estab- lishment of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which began publishing in 1882.

Sayre was a prolific author, and his books were widely read throughout the world in translations.

His greatest contributions to orthopedic surgery were in the treatment of tuberculosis of the spine and other joints. Such a dynamic personality could not avoid controversy and indeed he did not try to avoid it. It is interesting to note that his three sons all became orthopedic surgeons.

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Who’s Who in Orthopedics

Lewis Albert SAYRE

1820–1900

Lewis Albert Sayre was the dominant figure in orthopedic surgery in the United States during the nineteenth century. His father, a wealthy farmer in New Jersey, died when Lewis was only 10 years old, and he was brought up by his uncle, a banker in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from the Transylvania University in Lexington before attending the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, from which he obtained his medical degree in 1842. By 1853, he had become a visiting surgeon at Bellevue Hospital, where he was an important factor in the founding of Bellevue Hospital Medical School.

Because of his special interest, his large practice consisted mainly of patients with diseases and injuries of the bones and joints. For this reason, in 1861 he was appointed professor of orthopedic surgery, fractures and dislocations at Bellevue Hospital Medical School. This was the first such

Antonio SCARPA

1752–1832

Antonio Scarpa was born near Venice. He

attended medical school in Padua, receiving his

degree at the age of 18! While in Padua, he was

strongly influenced by Morgagni. At the age of

20, Scarpa became professor of anatomy and

theoretical surgery at Modena. Ten years later, he

moved to Pavia as professor of anatomy, becom-