Sir Charles Bell: Unheralded laryngologist

Sir Charles Bell is renowned and revered as an outstanding surgeon, anatomist, clinician and teacher and his many contributions to various medical fields have been amply described. What are less well-known are his contributions to the field of laryngology.

Selected clinical and physiological publications by Bell were examined that addressed issues related specifically to the airway or pharynx. These included both case reports and case series.

Bell was keenly interested in the physiology of voice production, disorders of the airways and deglutition. Despite a busy clinical and teaching practice, he took careful notice of individual cases that highlighted important generalizations regarding care for upper aerodigestive tract disorders that are relevant today. He was also the first to recognize the anatomy and physiology of pharyngoesophageal diverticula that Zenker later made more famous.

In addition to his many contributions to neurology, facial nerve anatomy and physiology, Sir Charles Bell was also a keen Laryngologist before the era of subspecialization. Rediscovery and study of his work should make us more appreciative of past clinician-investigators who cast a wide net to advance knowledge rather than burrow into a narrow tunnel of vision.