George Washington Crile
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George Washington Crile (November 11, 1864 – January 7, 1943) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
surgeon. Crile is now formally recognized as the first surgeon to have succeeded in a direct
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
. He contributed to other procedures, such as
neck dissection The neck dissection is a surgical procedure for control of neck lymph node metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck. The aim of the procedure is to remove lymph nodes from one side of the neck into which cancer cells may ...
. Crile designed a small hemostatic forceps which bears his name; the Crile mosquito clamp. He also described a technique for using opioids, regional anesthesia and general anesthesia which is a concept known as balanced anesthesia. He is also known for co-founding the
Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...
in 1921.


Early life

Crile was born in
Chili, Ohio Chili is an unincorporated community in Crawford Township, Coshocton County, Ohio, United States. History Chili originally grew up around a blacksmith shop which was established there. The community was platted in 1834. A post office opened under ...
. He graduated from
Ohio Northern University Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private United Methodist Church–affiliated university in Ada, Ohio. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It offers over 60 programs to ...
in 1885. In 1887, he received his
M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...
from Wooster Medical College which merged to form modern day
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Western Reserve School of Medicine (CWRU SOM, CaseMed) is the medical school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest biomedical research center in Ohio. History On November 1 ...
. He did further study at Vienna, London and Paris.


Career

He taught at Wooster from 1889 to 1900. He was professor of clinical medicine at Western Reserve University from 1900 to 1911, and was then made professor of surgery. He was chair of surgery at
University Hospitals Case Medical Center University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH Cleveland Medical Center) is a large not-for-profit academic medical complex in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is the main affiliate hospital of Cas ...
from 1910 to 1924, and established its Lakeside Hospital. Crile was responsible for whole blood transfusion, in 1906, and he spurred the use of the new X-ray machines. During the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
, he was made a member of the Medical Reserve Corps and served in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
(1898). He was made an honorable F.R.C.S. (London) in 1913. After America entered
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he became a major in the medical O.T.C., and professional director (1917–18). He served with the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) in France and was senior consultant in surgical research (1918–19). He was made lieutenant-colonel in June 1918, and colonel later in the year. He made important contributions to the study of blood pressure and of shock in operations. Realizing that any strong emotion, such as fear before operation, produced shock, he attempted to allay dread by psychic suggestion, also endeavouring to prevent the subjective shock which affects the patient, even when under general
anaesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), a ...
, by first anaesthetizing the operative region with
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for several days, if necessary, before operating. Thus nerve communication between the affected part and the brain was already obstructed when the general anaesthetic was administered. For his work in shockless surgery he received a gold medal from the National Institute of Social Sciences in 1914. When he retired from the Medical School at age 65, Crile went into private practice and worked with those establishing the new
Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...
.


Publications

* ''Surgical Shock'' (1897) * ''On the Blood Pressure in Surgery'' (1903) * ''Hemorrhage and Transfusion'' (1909) * ''Surgical Anemia and Resuscitation'' (1914) * ''The Origin and Nature of the Emotions'' (1915) * ''A Mechanistic View of War and Peace'' (1917). * ''Man an Adaptive Mechanism'' (1916) ''The Fallacy of the German State Philosophy'' (1918) * ''The Surgical Treatment of Hypertension'' (1938)


Honors

* * The U.S. Army's Crile General Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio was named in his honor on 21 April 1944. * The
lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wor ...
Crile is also named after him.


Personal life

He married Grace Elizabeth McBride (1876–1948), a sister of
David Reed David Reed may refer to: Entertainment * David Vern Reed (1924–1989), American comics writer * David E. Reed (1927–1990), ''Reader's Digest'' editor * David Reed (artist) (born 1946), American artist * David Jay Reed (born 1950), artist * Da ...
. His son, George Crile, Jr., was also a surgeon. His grandson
George Crile III George Washington Crile III (March 5, 1945 – May 15, 2006) was an American journalist most closely associated with his three decades of work at CBS News. He specialized in dangerous and controversial subjects, resulting in both praise and c ...
was a journalist, author, and CBS producer. He died on January 7, 1943, in Cleveland. He is buried in
Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...
in Cleveland, Ohio.


References


Further reading

* Yentis SM, Hirsch NP, Smith GB editors, ''Anaesthesia and Intensive Care A-Z'', Elsevier Ltd, London, 2000 * *


External links

* (Replacing dead PBS link) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crile, George Washington 1864 births 1943 deaths American surgeons Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine alumni Cleveland Clinic people Ohio Northern University alumni American expatriates in Austria American expatriates in France American expatriates in the United Kingdom