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William Osler

William Osler Quotes

Physician

William Osler was a renowned Canadian physician, considered one of the founders of modern medical education. Born on July 12, 1849, he passed away on December 29, 1919. Osler made significant contributions to the fields of pathology, clinical medicine, and medical education.

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Famous William Osler Quotes

“To have a group of cloistered clinicians away completely from the broad current of professional life would be bad for teacher and worse for student. The primary work of a professor of medicine in a medical school is in the wards, teaching his pupils how to deal with patients and their diseases.”

Would Be School Deals Teacher Groups Teaching Students Disease Medicine Patient Currents Medical Primaries Broads Professors Pupils Professional Life Medical School Clinicians

Book:The educational essays

Source: The educational essays

“There is no disease more conducive to clinical humility than aneurysm of the aorta.”

Humility Disease Clinicals

Book:The Quotable Osler

Source: The Quotable Osler

“Care more for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease. . . . Put yourself in his place . . . The kindly word, the cheerful greeting, the sympathetic look - these the patient understands.”

Looks Care Individual Special Disease Patient Features Cheerful Sympathetic Greetings

Author:William Osler

“Medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom. Let not your conceptions of disease come from words heard in the lecture room or read from the book. See, and then reason and compare and control. But see first.”

Firsts Book Reason Rooms Heard Disease Medicine Compare Conception Classroom Lectures Lecturing Practice Of Medicine

Author:William Osler

“The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.”

Persons Health Disease Medicine Medical Profession Chiropractic Prescription Drugs Herbal Medicine

Author:William Osler

“It is not as if our homeopathic brothers are asleep: far from it, they are awake - many of them at any rate - to the importance of the scientific study of disease.”

Ifs Age Dark Study Brother Disease Importance Rate Medical Awake Dark Ages Homeopathy

Book:Aequanimitas

Source: Aequanimitas

“Few diseases present greater difficulties in the way of diagnosis than malignant endocarditis, difficulties which in many cases are practi- cally insurmountable. It is no disparagement to the many skilled physicians who have put their cases upon record to say that, in fully one-half the diagnosis was made post mortem.”

Way Made Half Cases Records Greater Disease Difficulty Posts Physicians Diagnosis One Half Insurmountable

Author:William Osler

“Jaundice is the disease that your friends diagnose.”

Disease Jaundice

Author:William Osler

“Patients rarely die of the disease from which they suffer. Secondary or terminal infections are the real cause of death.”

Real Suffering Dies Causes Disease Patient Infection Terminal

Author:William Osler

“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”

Disease Treats Medicine Patient Medical Physicians Practice Of Medicine Medical Education Treating Patients

Author:William Osler

“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.”

Knows Important Health Disease Medicine Patient Medical Diseased Practice Of Medicine Medical Education

Author:William Osler

“The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.”

Ends Young Drug Disease Physicians Practice Of Medicine

Author:William Osler

“Variability is the law of life, and as no two faces are the same, so no two bodies are alike, and no two individuals react alike and behave alike under the abnormal conditions which we know as disease.”

Knows Life Two Body Faces Law Individual Conditions Health Disease Medicine Behave Abnormal Diseased Laws Of Life Normal And Abnormal Variability

Book:Aequanimitas

Source: Aequanimitas

“There are, in truth, no specialties in medicine, since to know fully many of the most important diseases a man must be familiar with their manifestations in many organs.”

Knows Men Important Disease Medicine Familiar Manifestation Organs Specialty

Book:Aequanimitas

Source: Aequanimitas

“Personally, I do not see in Canada it would be a feasible thing if any Ministry organized taking over both the Health and the Disease of the entire community... even in the most favourable circumstances... there would be that absence of competition and that sense of independence... I do not believe it would be good for the profession or good for the Public.”

Ifs Believe Would Be Care Community Health Circumstances Disease Independence Competition Be Good Profession Absence Health Care Organized Canada Ministry Public Health

Author:William Osler

About the Author

Born: July 12, 1849
Died: December 29, 1919
Known for: Physician
Quotes: 135

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Books & Sources

The Quotable OslerRelated source material

Osler'sRelated source material

AequanimitasRelated source material

The educational essaysRelated source material

The philosophical essaysRelated source material

Aequanimitas, and Other Papers that Have Stood the Test of Time. [With an Introd. by Paul Dudley White]Related source material

Men and books: collected and reprinted from the Canadian Medical Association JournalRelated source material

A Way of LifeRelated source material

Bibliotheca Osleriana: A Catalogue of Books Illustrating the History of Medicine and ScienceRelated source material

The Treatment of diseaseRelated source material

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