Neuropathology in Canada: The First One Hundred Years

Abstract

We describe the evolution of neuropathology in Canada, beginning with William Osler who began working in Montréal in 1874 and finishing with the major period of expansion in the 1970s. Organized services began in the 1930s, in Montréal with the neurosurgeons Wilder Penfield and William Cone, and in Toronto with Eric Linell and Mary Tom, who both began their careers as neuroanatomists. Jerzy Olszewski and Gordon Mathieson, who trained in Montréal and Toronto, drove the creation of the CanadianAssociation of Neuropathologists in 1960. Training guided by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada was formalized in 1965, with the first certifying examination in 1968 and the subsequent creation of formal structured training programs. The number of neuropathologists in Canada increased rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s, with individuals coming from both clinical neuroscience and anatomic pathology backgrounds, a pattern that persists to the present day.

Neuropathology Training Worldwide—Evolution and Comparisons

“…Harvey Cushing and Wilder Penfield, both renowned neurosurgeons, were disciples of the renowned pathologist William Osler . Following training in a range of disciplines, Cushing along with Percival Bailey (also principally a neurosurgeon) devised the first histopathologic classification of brain tumors in 1926 , while Penfield edited the first multiauthor textbook on NP in 1932 .…”

“…The history of NP in Canada was described in detail in a recent publication . The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) was founded in 1929 to oversee postgraduate medical education.…”

“…Training sites were eligible only if they also had a residency‐training program in anatomical pathology (AP) and there were stipulations on minimum number of autopsy and surgical cases; the guiding document was <2 pages length. The first Canadian certifying examination in the specialty of NP was administered in 1968 . Training requirements evolved gradually.…”

“…Until 2008, when the decision was overturned, not a single Canadian medical school graduate began NP training in Canada. During this period, two of the seven approved training centers closed . Following restoration of NP's specialty status, vitality returned to the system.…”

William osler and harvey williams cushing: Friendship around neurosurgery

“…The subsequent year was spent in Berlin under the instruction of the renowned pathologist Rudolf Virchow. [8] Osler was appointed to faculty at McGill in 1874. In 1884, he left Montreal for Philadelphia, where he was appointed clinical medicine professor of at the Pennsylvania University.…”