Osler's legacies to dermatologists

A century ago, Dr William Osler was the best-known physician in the world. Although not yet Sir William, an honor bestowed in 1909, his encyclopedic Principles and Practice of Medicine of 1892 had been translated into many languages and was to see several further editions. Meanwhile, his fame as a teacher, speaker, essayist, educational administrator, clinical investigator, medical consultant par excellence, kind and wise mentor and friend, humanist, bibliophile and collector, practical joker, and loving family man had made him a legend when he was barely 40 years old. A native of Canada, who at the age of 35 came to the United States for 21 years and then moved to England for the final 14 years. Osler's stunning list of achievements continued until his death in 1919 and has since become a myth in its magnitude, aided substantially by the 1925 Pulitzer-prize-winning, huge, and adoring biography by his student and acolyte, Harvey Cushing. Today, dermatologists can recite the cutaneous signs of Cushing's disease, but may be less secure in stating (or, more importantly, identifying) a variety of lesions associated with Osler's name. This article reviews those lesions which commemorate the name and dermatologic contributions of this great physician. In addition, other contributions and important personal characteristics that justify keeping his memory alive are discussed.