New York Medical College - Fleuroscope Yearbook (Valhalla, NY)

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AN APPRECIATION WILLIAM Hermann Dieffenbach is dead. -The impact of this news upon the conscious- ness of those who knew him is stunning. Theoretically no man is irreplaceable. Yet it is hard to understand just how his associates in the medical world are going to continue with- out him, for he had won a place as mentor, counselor and leader to a large group of med- ical men throughout the whole country. People living at the foot of a mountain do not realize the height of the summit. So we, who have been intimately associated with this man so many years, must be excused if in the numbing shock of his passing we find it impos- sible to evaluate his full magnitude. He was a great man. That much we know. Endowed with a wonderful mind and a rug- ' ged body, he had capacity for work far beyond - the average. He made himself a perfect mine of medical lore and had an astounding grasp of clinical medicine. His thirst for knowledge was always practical. His dynamic energy required action. His enthusiasm for homeopathy caused him to lead a group in the proving of radium, estab- lishing this remedy as a potent homeopathic drug. His altruism and personal self sacrifice in making this proving brought him poetic reward: quite unexpectedly the first case to ben- efit was himself: his old x-ray dermatitis was cured in the proving. He made the first colored photograph in the United States. His passion for new things in science of immediate practical value was well illustrated a few years ago. Attending a medical congress in Europe he learned of the use of ultra short wave. Characteristically he ordered a machine at once and thus was one of the first to bring this curative agent to the United States. His judgment has been verified by the mir- aculous cures which have popularized this method. Only recently he wrote a book which is generally credited as being the clearest exposition of this treatment thus far printed. His mind ranged far and wide. He was an authority on hydrotherapy and wrote a book on the subject. One of his students only a few days ago declared that Baron Dieffenbach's bath for delirium tremens had helped him out in many a difficult case. C Baron was an affectionate title used by his friends.l His long-range vision and enthusiasm over homeopathy undoubtedly saved the New York College from perishing. When the College was facing extinction he sounded the trumpet for advance. Practically everyone though success was impossible. His answer was to head a movement to raise a million dollar endowment. His energy and indomitable perseverance put the campaign over, and the College was saved for future usefulness. The present wave of scientific knowledge of homeopathy which is sweeping through the country might easily have been delayed had it not been for Dieffenbach. For it was he who, in his reading, came across that epochal essay of August Bier's entitled, What Shall Be Our Attitude Toward Homeopathy? He persuaded Dr. Philipp Schmahl to translate this remark- able work, and then we in this country began to realize, for the first time, all the painstaking, careful, conscientious, scientific investigation which had been going on in Germany for many years. Our grief at his passing is natural enough. We will miss a wonderful friend and a stanch supported of our principles. But there is another side: there is less suffering in the world because he lived in ity there will be less. So his spirit lives on. l. A. l. H., FEBRUARY 1937. E. WALLACE MacADAM Forty-six

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oToLARYNeoLoeY oPHTHALMoLoeY BOENTGENOLOGY t HETRICK MUNSON HOWARD THESE three departments are included among a rather select group .... More and more are medi- cal men demanding that the physician be exceptionally prepared before he enters any of these fields .... More and more is the individual physician coming to realize that exceptional preparation is essential if he is to be successful as a practitioner in one of these fields. Heading the department of Otolaryngology is Dr. Hetrick .... His penetrating insight together with his genial nature make him a true friend of the student . . . . Drs. Sacklin and Bowman are encountered less frequently than the student might desire .... Dr. Foster is rapidly gaining fame in the field of mastoid work. . . . , Dr. Lloyd we recall from our junior year . . . . . . . . His lectures on diagnosis of chest conditions to- gether with the technique of bronchoscopy are indelibly printed in our minds. The department of Ophthalmology is presided over by Dr. Munson .... A more sincere man or one more interested in medical education could not be found .... The delicacy and -dexterity with which he has operated hundreds of difficult eye cases have never ceased to amaze the student .... Dr. Chambers has long been noted for his interest in eye conditions associated with skull fracture .... Dr. McLean had an interesting bit of advice to offer the senior class .... It is his conten- tion that even the most expensive ophthalmoscope can- not make a diagnosis--the diagnosis is rather depend- ent on the man who is using the instrument. Two men guide the destinies of Flower Hospital in radiological work .... The professor and head of the department is Dr. Howard .... His patient instruction of the upper classes in a profoundly difficult subject will ever be a source of wonder to the graduating class . . . . Clinical instruction in roentgenology is ably con- ducted by Dr. Borrelli .... His keen sense of humor has not infrequently been the cause of many embar- rassing moments for some of the lesser students .... His slow drawl and half-closed eyes belie his active mind and ready wit. The men representing these specialties also represent a goal toward which we must all strive, if, we are to be successful in medicine .... They personify honesty, integrity and sincerity .... Their personifications are to be our ideals. Forty-five

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im WILLIAM DIEFFENBACI-I WILLIAM FRANCIS I-ICNAN . Two Homeopathic Physicians Who Have Leit Their Impress On Modern Medical Science I Q - ttMAN, the Unknown was the topic of his . last lecture to the class. Little did he real- , 1 ize that it was to be the final lecture of his S 4 splendid career. 'From ashes to ashes, and dust to dust', a short unpredictable span. Although our association with Dr. William F. l-lonan was but brief, a mutual understanding was immediately felt. His clearness of thought. and tolerance to new ideas were soon recog- nized. He was sincerely interested in teaching us, as his students and as his friends. As members of the lower classes, we had heard much of his surgical ability, but it was personal observation of his gentle care of patients, and his surgical finesse which earned both our re- spect and admiration. lt was this combination of surgeon-scholar -friend which inspired one of our classmates- Leonard Rubin-to express his, as well as the class' appreciation of his many admirable qualities. Unknown to even his intimate friends, Leonard determined to devote his talents to manifest concretely the high opinion with which we regard Dr. Honan. Lenny worked long and earnestly to prepare a bust of our departed teacher. For his model, he could re- sort only to photographs obtained from previous Year Books. So characteristic are the features, and so life-like the sparkling smile, that the faculty-as well as the student body-spontaneously greeted with acclaim the bust, with its beautiful workmanship, and the idealistic sentiment behind its creation. With becoming mod- esty, the bust was given to the class, and it was only befitting that we-who were the last to be associated with Dr. Honan as students and teacher-should donate the bust, as a class gift, to the college. , , I The bust will remain a most appropriate tribute of a Student s appreciation of a worthy Teacher. HY REINSTEIN Forty-seven