VOLUME 8, NUMERO 1 HOPITAL NEUROLOGIQUE DE MONTREAL VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 MARS 1991 MONTREAL NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE MARCH 1991

C E N T E N N I A L C E L E B R A T I O N

WILDER PENFIELD

THE CEREBRAL CORTEX OF MAN

SPEECH AND

BRAIN

MECHANISM

1959

EPILEPSY AND

FUNCTIONAL

ANATOMY

OF THE HUMAN

BRAIN

1954

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VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 MARCH 1991

Images of Wilder Peafield (1891- 1976) By William Feindel, OC, MDCM, Director, Neuro History Project

A Centennial Celebration For Penfield

Wilder Penfield is kcognized internationally for two great legacies - his founding of the Montkal Neurological Institute as a world center for treatment, teaching'and research related to disorders of the brain and his development of a neurosurgical approach to the cure of epilepsy 12.

The portrait of Penfield by Rice (Fig.1) appears in the composite photograph of the McGill Faculty of Medicine and students of the graduating class of 1933. It depicts Penfield, handsome and dapper, with tweed jacket, neatly knotted four-in hand, the flourish of handkerchief, and a steady gaze that engages the viewer. , The centennial in 199 1 of Pen17eld's birthday has already been celebrated at the Neuro by a symposium titled, "Exciting Beginnings: the Decisive Decade (1928-1938)". Fifteen speakers reviewed Penfield's early work at the

I Royal Victoria Hospital with William Cone, Colin Russel and others, as well as the activities at the MNI after it was opened in 1934, through funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, city and provincial goverments and generous private donors, to McGill University. I

The symposium gave glimpses of I

Penfield as a surgeon-scientist, his sensitivity and cordiality toward French- speakingneurologica~ cb~eagues, his dose relations with McGill University, his special affection for his family, his concern in the achitectura1 design of Fig. I- Wilder Penfield in '1 932, age 4 I . Photo by Rice, Montreal.

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the Institute, and his work with many orthopedic surgeons in their desire to the brainstem. His tireless dedication teachers, partners and teams who reduce their surgical infection rate. The led to a vast number of individual established with him the Institute's method of local anaethesia derived papers on cytology, pathology and recognition in the world of neurology. from Foerster with whom he had physiology of the nervous system and This present brief essay highlights worked in 1928 in Germany, learning to classical monographs, such as The some stages of Penfield's career by from him the method of electrical Cvtolo~v and Cellular Patholo~v of the selected photographs from the Penfield stimulation to map the brain.3 Nervous System, and others with many Archive. of his associates- Erickson, Jasper,

Scientist Rasmussen, Roberts- on the surgical Professor of Neurosurgery Penfield's role as a scientist antedated analysis and treatment of focal Penfield's major commitment was to his decision to become a brain surgeon. epilepsy.' (see Bibliography pp.501- neurosurgery and especially to the His student days in Oxford studying the 513) surgery of epilepsy. In a typical scene mammalian nervous system with (Fig.2) he is shown suturing surgical Charles Sherrington, his time spent Team work drapes on a patient about to be with Hortega, the brilliant pupil of Another photograph (Fig.4) shows him operated upon under local anaethesia. Cajal, learning the Spanish neurohis- with his life-long surgical partner, His method sf draping and the frames tological techniques, and his exposure William Cone, and his neurological for the trays of instruments followed to Foerster's systematic efforts to cure colleague, Colin Russel, taken in 1932 the 'surgical rituaI' of Harvey Cushing epilepsy by surgery, gave him a in front of the Royal Victoria Hospital. whom he had visited many times scientific base for his continuing study This trio epitomizes Penfield's during the 1920s The "Penfield' of cerebral localization. An enthusiastic determined plan to join neurology and mask", designed to cover the entire teacher, Penfield (Fig.3) would intrigue neurosurgery and to combine them head and neck except for the eyes, medical students with his bimanual with the basic sciences, at that time raised some comments, but many years drawings of the Mo cerebral comprising mainly neuropathology and later was eagerly adopted by hemispheres and their connections to neuroanatomy. He had brooded over

- - . ---- -- Fig.2; Suulrjng zurgical drapes. lvote me ovemeaa renfie~a mask", aaour I 7x1.

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- Ir Fig.3- Teaching cerebral localaat~on, 1 963

this idea while visiting many clinics in Europe; in those which were most effective, neurology and neurosurgery worked t~gether.~ He further realized it was the integration of clinicians and scientists that in the long term would lead to successful study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system.

Penfield was a keen competitive sportsman. He played and coached football at Princeton and continued throughout his life to take time out to enjoy tennis, skiing, and saiIing, often with a win in mind.

Family matters Above all, he was a much loved husband and father (Fig.5). The children went overseas with him and Mrs. Penf eld on study trips, always deeply involved in family affairs and a style of life that left impressions carried over to the grand chiIdren4As one of them wrote, ''The same principles that guided his activities as head of the Neuro also informed his contribution to our large but closely

Fig.4- Colin K. Russel, Wilder Penfield and William Cone, Royal Victoria Hospical, 1932.

I Fig.5 -The Penfield family, 1932.

knit family ... to begin with, his strong sense of fair play and the importance to him of being part of a team.'"

Second Career In 1960, he changed from active surgical. practice to devote himself to writing, lecturing, travelling and public service. He is shown at the time of publication of his volume of essays, The Second Career, (Fig.6) in which he expounded his views about taking on new projects to avoid rusting in Fig.& At publication of The I Career, 13. retiremenL6

FinaIly, during the last decade of his References life, Penfield became the venerable I. Eccles [Sirp, Feindel W: Wdder raws Penfield 1891-1 976. ln: Begraphical Memoirs of

sage, always open to discussions on the Fellan ofthe Royal Society 24: 473-5 13, 1978. 2. Feindel W Wilder Penfield (1 876-1 976): The man and hi work. Nmsurgery. I: 93-1 00.

nervous system, engaged in writing his 1977. memoirs on how the Institute was 3. Feindd W: The contribution of Wtlder Penfdd to the tuntttml anatomy of W e human brain.

Human Neumbd. 1 : 23 1-234. 1982. founded? and persevering in his finaI 4. ~ewis J: Something Hidden. A biography oFWilder Penfield. (3 1 I pages). Garden City New task, to explain the mysteries of the York: Doubleday & Company Inc.. 1981.

brain and mind. "The problem of 5. Penfield W No Man Alone. A neumwrgeon3 Ufe. (398 pages). Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1977.

neurology," he once wrote, ' " is to 6. Penfield W me Seond Career. Boston: UtUe. Brown and Company, 1963.

understand man himself" It seems a 7. Penfield W: Foreword. In: The Anatomy of the Brain and Nenres. by Thomas Willis led william Fdndd) Tercentenary editton. Vol.1. McGill University Press, 1965.

fitting quotation to grace the cIinicd 8. Pruel M. Feindel W: Origim of Wilder Penfield5 surgical technique: the role of the ICushing

and research pavilion named in his ritual" and influences from the European expenenceJ.Neuroswg. (in press], I99 I. 9. Williams K: Famiby matters. Comments fcf the Penfield Centennial Celebrabwl. Januay 25.

honor that was opened in 1978, almost 1991. doubEing the resources of the Institute, Ackncwledgments

to meet the ever-burgeoning demands I am grateful to Charles P Hwlge fw hi expertise in reproducing Illusvations from the Penfield Archhe, to Ma. Irene Elce for processing Me manuscript and to [he Donner Camdun

of the enterprise he had founded in Foundation for a grant irk aid to support the Nwro Hiiory hoject.

1934. CepyrtgM. Wliam Feindel. 1991

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must confess that whatever I may have contributed to neurosurgery or to research, I have Cone to thank for making

it possible to concentrate on the problem. He helped me with my patients as if he were my consultant and houseman. Because of the help I had from him, the directorship of the MNI never did weigh very heavily on my shoulders."

"There is a gay, generous, helpful spirit that has come to dwell in the Montreal Neurological Insitute. Many have contributed to i t , as Bill Cone did."

" S ince I became a neurosurgeon, I have always been concerned

primarily, of course, with the 1 problem of one patient after another, and patients prompted many an inquiry. The patient continued to be in the foreground i of my concern, but in the I background there was an urge to exploration."

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Wilder Penfield THE MYSTERY OF THE MIND, 1975.

EPILEPSY, THE GREAT TEACHER The Progress qfOn(3 Pupil

WILDER PENFELD

69 This Bulletin i s sponsored by

HEALTH SCIEVCES DIVISION