Harvey Cushing: A Life Dedicated to Neurosurgery

Authors

Keywords:

Career, researchers, history of medicine, neurosurgery

Abstract

Introduction: Harvey Cushing's incessant struggle to give neurosurgery the character of an independent specialty, in addition to his undeniable surgical skills, make him considered the most relevant neurosurgeon of the twentieth century.

Objective: To describe the distinguished work of Harvey Cushing, as well as aspects of his controversial personality.

Methods: For the development of this bibliographic review, an exhaustive search was carried out in PubMed, SciELO Regional and SciELO Cuba and from the 37 bibliographies consulted, 19 were selected and included in this review, those that did not constitute relevant contributions to the research were excluded.

Development: Cushing has one of the most outstanding careers in medicine, as he not only became the founder of a specialty as demanding as neurosurgery (where he was especially attracted by the study of brain tumors), but also described the Cushing reflex in 1901 and the hypercortisolism syndrome in 1932. The relentless dedication for hours to his work and the marked perfectionist trait that distinguished him constitute the other familiar face of his multifaceted personality.

Conclusions: The title of "Father of Neurosurgery" was awarded to Cushing due to the many years dedicated to its practice and the notable contributions made, in addition to the strong informative work he carried out in favor of its constitution as a specialty. He is an example to follow for every medical student, and even more so, for those who are passionate about diseases of the Nervous System.

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References

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Published

2025-05-24

How to Cite

1.
Naranjo Lima S, Estrada Rodríguez Y, Gálvez Vila RMGV. Harvey Cushing: A Life Dedicated to Neurosurgery. Columna méd. [Internet]. 2025 May 24 [cited 2025 May 29];4(1):e292. Available from: https://revcolumnamedica.sld.cu/index.php/columnamedica/article/view/292

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Vol. 4 (2025): Continuous publication

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Humanities Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Shania Naranjo Lima, Yonathan Estrada Rodríguez, Richard Marcial Gálvez Vila Gálvez Vila

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