Almost 120 years ago, Dr Will Mayo wished “you pathologists would find a way to tell us surgeons whether a growth is cancer or not while the patient is still on the table”. Dr L.B Wilson complied.

First coined “silicosis” by Visconti in 1870, silicosis would responsible for the death of over 764 workers building the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel. Blues singer Josh White said it best - Pinewood Tom (Josh White) Silicosis Is Killin' Me (1936) (youtube.com)

Pierre Masson, chair of the depart of pathology at Montreal (1927-1954), inventor of novel stains –Masson trichrome, silver stain, keen observer of tumors and cell of origin: the glomus tumor, nevi, carcinoid tumor, remembered as a modest man yet a giant of surgical pathology.

F.K. Mostofi, the “Great man” of urologic pathology at the AFIP, known for his passion and hard work. He transformed the IAMM into the IAP we know today. The USCAP established an award in memory of his outstanding service to the Academy, the Mostofi Distinguished Service Award.

The legacy of his scholarship and many others continues today The Joint Pathology Center (JPC) Aaron Auerbach

Dr. Ernest Goodpasture is known for a disease he likely did not describe. In fact, his major achievement is the invention of a method to grow virus - using chick embryos as hosts. This would lead to a revolution in the development of vaccines.

The history of the frozen section. Without frozen section there likely would not be an anatomic/surgical pathology specialty... But first anesthesia was needed. How else could a patient and their surgeon wait for a frozen section interpretation...

History of Frozen Section. Anesthesia was a critical step. 1st successful demonstration of a surgery under anesthesia occurred in 1846 at Mass General - William Horton, dentist, used ether - Surgeon John Warren removed a neck mass.

Dear trainees, if you are interested in the History of Pathology and attend the USCAP annual meeting, our Society sponsors the Henry Azar Award. An abstract can be submitted through the USCAP submission process or directly on our website.

Save the date Friday October 18th at 3pm CT US for our 2nd mid-Fall online meeting of our Society. You are welcome to join and listen to our Azar Awardee of 2024, Dr Ramirez and our guest speaker, Dr Pizzi. mchealth.zoom.us/j/92517938968?… Meeting ID: 925 1793 8968 Passcode: 269197

Johannes Müller (1801-58), Virchow’s teacher, applied science and exact methods to biology. He broke away from the theory of humors and was credited as the first to study the cellular composition of tumors using a microscope. His work on cancer was published in 1838

Although first described in Antiquity, the disease became known as Behcet disease after Hulusi Behcet, Turkish dermatologist, reported the classic triad of oral, genital ulcers and eye lesion in 1937. He and his colleague pathologist, Dr Oberndorfer, searched for a virus in vain.

A new year, a new program for our Companion meeting at USCAP 2025 annual meeting in Boston "Serendipity: Unplanned Lucky Discoveries in Medical Sciences" with 4 great speakers. Please join us Sunday March 23rd.

William Osler, the "greatest diagnostician ever to wield a stethoscope", one of the "Big Four" founders of Johns Hopkins, was an enthusiast of the microscope "It is of equal importance with the stethoscope". He introduced a practical histology course to students at McGill in 1876

Dr. Vivien Thomas, an exceptional surgical technician, played a crucial role in developing the first successful open-heart surgery techniques. His contributions to cardiovascular surgery paved the way for advancements in the field. 👨‍⚕️❤️ #VivienThomas #BlackHistoryMonth

John Azzopardi is best known for his book on breast pathology and of course his "phenomenon" of DNA incrustation of vessels in small cell carcinoma. "Fatherly teacher, generous friend" who provided expert consultations all over the world at no charge.

Wilms tumor named after Carl Marx Wilms (1867-1918), who published his monograph on this tumor in 1899 as a pathologist in Giessen. He would end his career as a successful surgeon and Chair of Surgery at Heidelberg in 1910.

Crohn disease named after Burrill Bernard Crohn following a 1932 article in JAMA "Regional ileitis, a pathological and clinical entity". But description of the disease can be found in the 1st C by Aretaeus. Louis XIII and Prince Albert would have also suffered from the disease.

Robbin Warren, Australian pathologist, first recognized curved bacteria, in stomach ulcers of patients in 1979. His observation was met with scorn, until Barry Marshall teamed up with him. They went on to win a Nobel Prize for their discovery of H. Pylori and its clinical impact

Lauren Ackerman (1905-1993), champion of Surgical Pathology as a specialty and author of the seminal textbook Surgical Pathology, first published in 1953. His mentee, Juan Rosai would continue its publication until 2004.