Prelude-Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University 1894-1928

This paper reviews the history of neurology and neurosurgery at McGill University from their origins within the Departments of Medicine and of Surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1894, to the creation of an autonomous Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery in 1928 at the Montreal Neurological Institute. The argument is made that the collaboration of James Stewart and James Bell and of Colin Russel and Edward Archibald in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological patients created an institutional culture that favored the integration of neurology, neurosurgery, and allied disciplines within a departmental structure and the creation of the Montreal Neurological Institute.