Must Read....Top 10 most influential physicians of all times

#1 Sir William Osler (1849-1919)
Often referred to as the "doctor's doctor" and the father of modern clinical practice, the Canadian Sir William Osler achieved extraordinary influence over modern-day medicine, most importantly through his support of clinical experience (or "bedside" learning) for medical students. Osler's The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of Practitioners and Students of Medicine, published in 1892, became the standard textbook for physicians around the world and helped cement the movement away from exclusively textbook-based education towards clinic-based learning.


The youngest of nine children and from a small town in rural Ontario, Osler completed his medical degree at McGill University. He held leading academic positions at McGill, the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins (where he revolutionized the education of medical students by having students follow his "rounds"), and finally Oxford University. With his emphasis on bedside manner and compassionate care, William Osler had more influence on the behavior and education of his fellow clinicians—and, by extension, their patients—than any other physician in modern times
Some of his famous aphorisms:
Listen to your patients; they are telling you the diagnosis.
The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.

#2 Hippocrates (c. 460-c. 375 BCE)
For pairing the observation of clinical signs with rational conclusions, Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine. Through the teachings ascribed to him, Hippocrates was perhaps the first to consider disease to be the result of naturally occurring forces rather than something attributable to the gods and superstition. He helped establish medicine as a separate scientific discourse, laying the foundation for the clinical practice of medicine and playing a groundbreaking part in the development of the role and ethics of the physician through the Hippocratic Oath.

With few remaining contemporary accounts, the reputation of Hippocrates started to gel in the Hellenistic period, roughly one century after his death, when the Museum of Alexandria collected his works—the Corpus Hippocraticum—for its library. Of the roughly 60 remaining treatises, it appears (owing to varying styles) that Hippocrates may have written few of them, although they share a common philosophical underpinning. In this light, the teachings of Hippocrates might be considered the culmination of a movement fueled by the life and discoveries of the man himself.

Hippocrates developed an extensive understanding of how the body works. His writings describe theories on the interconnection of organs, thoughts related to diagnosis and prognosis, methods for treating wounds and setting bones, and theories of disease, including its prevention through diet, sleep and exercise.

#3 Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865)
The Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis was influential in establishing sanitary conditions in surgery and the healthcare setting by demonstrating—using vigorous statistical methodologies—how the simple act of handwashing dramatically lowered death rates after childbirth. He became known as the "savior of mothers."

Semmelweis famously compared puerperal fever (childbed fever) in two maternity wards at the General Hospital in Vienna: one staffed by all female midwives and the other by doctors and medical students. After several failed theories and without an understanding of germs, he was able to prove that the higher incidence of illness and death in the physician-run ward was due to insalubrious conditions. Morbidity and mortality plummeted once doctors began washing their hands with chlorine after postmortems and operations and scrubbing up between patients.

Born in what is now Budapest, Semmelweis studied at the University of Vienna, switching to medicine after a false start in law. He opted for obstetrics and obtained a position at the Vienna General Hospital. Later in his career, following mid-19th century political turmoil and controversy, he returned to Budapest for a position at the University of Pest.

Although Semmelweis's theory ultimately ushered in decent sanitary conditions in operating theaters and hospitals, he was ridiculed by the medical establishment of the time. This was the origin of the expression "the Semmelweis reflex"—a tendency to reject new theories when they contradict established practice or understanding.

To be continued.