- Tinsley Randolph Harrison
Tinsley Randolph Harrison (
March 18 ,1900 –August 4 ,1978 ) was a USphysician and editor of the first five editions ofHarrison's Principles of Internal Medicine .Harrison was born in
Talladega ,Alabama , onMarch 18 ,1900 . He was the son of Groce Harrison, himself a sixth-generation physician. Having graduated from high school at the age of 15, Harrison attended theUniversity of Michigan , where he also completed one year of medical school before transferring to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the fall of 1919. His roommate and tennis partner at Johns Hopkins wasAlfred Blalock , with whom he developed a close lifelong friendship. He completed his internship atPeter Bent Brigham Hospital inBoston , returned to Hopkins for further training ininternal medicine , and completed his residency atVanderbilt University .Harrison's special field of interest was
cardiovascular medicine as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms of disease. His name is best known among medical practitioners as the founding editor and editor-in-chief of the first five editions ofHarrison's Principles of Internal Medicine . The text initiated several unique approaches to medical textbook writing, and remains, in its current edition, one of the most widely read and regarded textbooks in medicine.Harrison's career included extensive work in research, publishing, medical education, and medical practice. He taught at
Vanderbilt University 's school of medicine, at what was then the Bowman Gray School of Medicine atWake Forest University in North Carolina and at what is today theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical School inDallas, Texas .Harrison spent the greatest part of his teaching career at the
University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM) inBirmingham, Alabama , where he served as Dean and chairman of the Department of Medicine. At UASOM, Harrison helped initiate a rapid period of growth that included recruitment of nationally known physicians from the faculties of such institutions asHarvard University and theMayo Clinic . This period saw UASOM rise from local to international prominence. The Tinsley Harrison Research Tower at UASOM is named in his honor.Harrison died in Birmingham at the age of 78.
References
*Merrill WH, "What's Past is Prologue" Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:2366-75
* [http://www.uab.edu/historical/uabchron.html Chronology, UASOM] at uab.edu
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4113/is_200401/ai_n9350998 "The Doctors Harrison: A Magnificent Obsession"] at findarticles.com
External links
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071402357 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th Ed.] at Amazon.com.
* [http://main.uab.edu/uasom/show.asp?durki=2023 University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine]
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