Benjamin Castleman (May 17, 1906,

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Everett was the last city in the Un ...

– June 29, 1982, Boston, Massachusetts) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

best known for describing

Castleman's disease Castleman disease (CD) describes a group of rare lymphoproliferative disorders that involve enlarged lymph nodes, and a broad range of inflammatory symptoms and laboratory abnormalities. Whether Castleman disease should be considered an autoimmu ...

(angiofollicular lymphoid hyperplasia), which is named after him. He was also one of the authors of the first case series on

pulmonary alveolar proteinosis Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung disorder characterized by an abnormal accumulation of surfactant-derived lipoprotein compounds within the alveoli of the lung. The accumulated substances interfere with the normal gas exchange and ...

in a 1958 article in the ''

New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hist ...

''. ("Rosen–Castleman–Liebow syndrome" is a rarely used term for that condition.) Castleman undertook clinicopathologic investigations of parathyroid disease and wrote several important papers on diseases of the thymus and mediastinum. He wrote, or collaborated in writing, over 100 scholarly papers on a variety of disorders. Castleman grew up in a Jewish religious household and was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(B.A., 1927) and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

(M.D., 1931). He worked for many years at the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, serving as chief of the division of anatomic pathology there, and he held the rank of Professor of Pathology in the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. Castleman was an editor of the clinicopathological case presentation series in the ''

''. The Benjamin Castleman Award has been given annually since 1982 to the first author of an English-language research article that is considered the most worthy in the field of human pathology. It is administered by the

United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology The United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, abbreviated USCAP, is the largest North American organization of pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to th ...

. Castleman died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

in June 1982http://person.ancestry.com/tree/27506048/person/26081655578/story and is buried in Boston, MA.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleman, Benjamin American pathologists 1906 births 1982 deaths People from Everett, Massachusetts Physicians of Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard University alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni

See also

Footnotes