Percival Sylvester Bailey (May 9, 1892 – August 10, 1973) was an American

neuropathologist Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinic ...

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

who was a native of rural southern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He originally studied to become a teacher at

Southern Illinois Normal University Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...

, but transferred to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1912, where he became interested in

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

. In 1918 he graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston, and in 1919 became an assistant to

Harvey Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cushing's disease. ...

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...

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 ...

. In 1928 he became head of the neurosurgical department at the

, and in 1939 was professor of neurology and neurological surgery at the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

. From 1951 he was director of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute. Percival Bailey is remembered for his collaborative work with

, and his important work involving the classification of

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

s, which prior to his research was in a state of disarray and confusion. From 1922 to 1925, Bailey performed extensive

pathological 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 ...

and

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

studies of brain tumors, and based on cellular configuration, he created a classification system of thirteen categories. In 1927, he reduced the number of categories to ten. In 1925, Bailey identified a mid-cerebellar

glioma A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain or the spine. Gliomas comprise about 30 percent of all brain tumors and central nervous system tumours, and 80 percent of all malignant brain tumours. Signs and symptoms ...

that is usually associated with childhood called a

medulloblastoma Medulloblastoma is a common type of primary brain cancer in children. It originates in the part of the brain that is towards the back and the bottom, on the floor of the skull, in the cerebellum, or posterior fossa. The brain is divided into two ...

, of which he published an important paper with Cushing titled '' Medulloblastoma Cerebelli''. The two doctors are credited with coining the term "

hemangioblastoma Hemangioblastomas, or haemangioblastomas, are vascular tumors of the central nervous system that originate from the vascular system, usually during middle age. Sometimes, these tumors occur in other sites such as the spinal cord and retina. They ma ...

". With

Paul Bucy Paul Bucy (; November 13, 1904 – September 22, 1992) was an American neurosurgeon and neuropathologist who was a native of Hubbard, Iowa. He is known both for his part in describing the Klüver–Bucy syndrome, his academic life as a teacher ...

(1904-1992), Bailey made investigations involving the structure of intracranial tumors and meningeal tumors. The two men were able to confirm that a specific type of tumor (now known as an

oligodendroglioma Oligodendrogliomas are a type of glioma that are believed to originate from the oligodendrocytes of the brain or from a glial precursor cell. They occur primarily in adults (9.4% of all primary brain and central nervous system tumors) but are also ...

) consisted of

oligodendroglia Oligodendrocytes (), or oligodendroglia, are a type of neuroglia whose main functions are to provide support and insulation to axons in the central nervous system of jawed vertebrates, equivalent to the function performed by Schwann cells in the ...

. With

Gerhardt von Bonin Gerhardt is a masculine name of Germanic origin. It can refer to the following: As a first name * Ants Eskola (1908–1989), Soviet-Estonian actor and singer born Gerhardt Esperk * Gerhardt Laves (1906–1993), American linguist * Gerhardt Neef ...

(1890-1979), Bailey authored two works, "The Neocortex of the Chimpanzee" in 1950 and "The Isocortex of Man" in 1951, which provided an accurate description concerning the

cytoarchitecture Cytoarchitecture (Greek '' κύτος''= "cell" + '' ἀρχιτεκτονική''= "architecture"), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope. Cytoarchi ...

of the

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...

. As a psychiatrist, Bailey was a vocal critic of

Freudian psychology PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...

, which he considered speculative and unscientific. In 1965, he published a book about

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

titled "Sigmund The Unserene".

References

*Bucy, Paul C.
Percival Bailey 1892-1973
. Washington D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1989. * Ferguson, Sherise and Maciej S. Lesniak.
Percival Bailey and the Classification of Brain Tumors
. ''Neurosurgical Focus''. Vol. 18. No. 4. (April 2005).

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Percival American psychiatrists American neurologists American neurosurgeons 1973 deaths 1892 births 20th-century surgeons University of Chicago alumni Scientists from Illinois University of Illinois Chicago faculty University of Chicago faculty Northwestern University alumni Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences