Loma Linda University - Priorities Yearbook (Loma Linda, CA)

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s fllll e. .-w M4 . is. W, ms , . rg as ss Es is is s v s s m -:J E. .ya V 1 Vw T my if f, Samuel A. Crooks, Professor of Gross Anatomy and poet-philosopher, pauses to read a few lines of verse before the 7:00 A.M. lecture GRHSS A Allllll Blue overalls are proper things For brawny men and brave, They make the purple clocks of kings Seem vestments of a slave. -Thomas Russell Shelton lt's the first session in gross anatomy. An unob- trusive figure in blue overalls saunters quietly into the crowded amphitheatre. He sits down on the ce- ment steps, and waits. As the class bell rings he isx arises and leisurely walks to the desk. He does not launch immediately into anatomy but digresses to leave with his new students part of his simple philos- ophy of living. Thus Dr. Samuel A. Crooks introduces himself. Far longer than his students remember the inser- tions of the sacrospinalis and the ossification of the metacarpals, will Dr. Crooks be remembered for his

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The student's first day of classes is not a series of brief sessions in which the purposes of the courses are explained and assignments made. Rather he takes pages of notes from lecturers who presuppose he has already studied the first fifty pages of each text. And indeed they were assigned, he finds, as he consults the mimeographed sheets which appear in his mailbox. New are the steep amphitheatres which permit front-row vision for nearly a hundred students. New are the ten-dollar textbooks. With conspicuous pride he carries home his Gray's Anatomy by the handles of its canvas case. He makes out a schedule of tests and finds nearly every evening will be spent in dread of the morning. New is everything in the way it is geared to help him make the best 'use of his time. Assistants perform routine and repetitive work before he arrives in the laboratory. Few lecturers indulge in platitudes, and the student crowds himself to maximum efficiency at taking notes. He finds even small facts important and a general knowledge of the subiect not acceptable. He learns what it is to worry lest he flunk out. As you read further, the pictures you see and words you read will supply only sugar-coating for a uniformly difficult and sometimes bitter struggle. Know that the, pleasant teachers have been severe, the smiling students grim, and the placid faces frightened. Know, too, that we wouldn't trade places with anyone else in the world. For we're going to be physicians. 5 ..,. 1 The first text to buy is Gray's Anatomy at twelve-titty Chester C. Fink, Registrar of the Loma Linda Division, rechecks a 1.5 grade-point average

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9 -1 Almost any afternoon in gross lab. Instructor John Fletcher stands by wisdom, his wit, the kindliness behind his twinkling eyes, and his personal interest in each one. Again, after a defiating examination, he renews the courage of the neophyte with a bit of verse. One step at a time, and that well placed, We reach the grandest height . . . One thing at a time, and that well done,' ls wisdom's proven rule. Long will memories of anatomy linger. The senti- mental regard for the pamphlet fGray's Anatomy, 1400 pagesj, the long night preceding the first exam- ination and the hypocritical aid proffered by sopho- mores, the frantic feeling during the first star when reading upon the tag attached to a nondescript tissue the direction, Name this structure and give its nerve supply, the flurry in the dissection room as white- Dr. John E. Hughes demonstrates the reflections of the peritoneum with a balloon. gowned medics dash out to get their graded papers, the odor from hands steeped in formaldehyde invad- ing one's nostrils while munching a sandwich follow- ing laboratory sessions-these are but a few treasured pictures in memory's hall. Being fundamental to the further study of medicine and to subsequent practice of surgery, gross anatomy rightfully occupies a major portion of the freshman curriculum. The freshman considers a pass in anat- omy a fair amen that some day he, too, may hang out his shingle. As the embryo doctor unveils each seemingly minor detail of body structure, he is forced again and again to admit the infinite wisdom and creative forethought of God. In the words of the Psalmist he exclaims, l am fearfully and wonderfully made. Pelvic engineering demonstrated by Mervyn G. Hordinge, M.D.