Lester Reynold Dragstedt (2 October 1893 16 July 1975) was the first surgeon to successfully separate siamese twins.

Career

During the 1920s, he was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

.

In 1936, he was one of three doctors from the University of Chicago Department of Bacteriology, Surgery and Medicine who discovered a new germ, the apparent cause of Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease . Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the colon , that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset...

.

He developed a new surgical procedure (surgical vagotomy

Vagotomy

A vagotomy is a surgical procedure that involves resection of the vagus nerve.-Applications:Truncal vagotomy is a treatment option for chronic duodenal ulcers...

) for duodenal ulcers (resulting from peptic ulcer disease).

He was a well-respected surgeon, renowned for his work on gastric and duodenal ulcers.

Legacy

Since 1977, the UF College of Medicine Department of Surgery have held annual Lester R. Dragstedt Symposiums, named in his honour.

Honors and Distinctions

Degrees

• 1915 B.S., University of Chicago
• 1916 M.S., University of Chicago
• 1920 Ph.D., University of Chicago
• 1921 M.D., Rush Medical College
  Rush Medical College
  Rush Medical College is the medical school of Rush University, a private university in Chicago, Illinois. Rush Medical College was one of the first medical colleges in the state of Illinois and was chartered in 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was chartered, and opened with 22 students on...
  
  , Chicago

Honorary Degrees

• 1953 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Guadalajara
  University of Guadalajara
  University of Guadalajara is a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. It is the second oldest university in Mexico, the fifth oldest in North America and the fourteenth oldest in Latin America...
  
  , Mexico
• 1959 Docteur Honoris Causa, University of Lyons, France
• 1969 Sc.D., University of Florida
  University of Florida
  The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
  
  , Gainesville
• 1973 Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

Career

University Appointments

• 1916 Assistant, Department of Physiology, University of Chicago
• 1916–1917 Instructor, Pharmacology, State University of Iowa
• 1917–1919 Assistant Professor of Physiology, State University of Iowa
• 1920–1923 Assistant Professor of Physiology, University of Chicago
• 1923–1925 Professor and Head, Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, Northwestern University
• 1925–1930 Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago
• 1930–1948 Professor of Surgery, University of Chicago
• 1948–1959 Thomas D. Jones Distinguished Service Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, University of Chicago
• 1959–1975 Research Professor of Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville

Membership of Organizations and Societies

American Organizations and Societies

• National Academy of Sciences
  United States National Academy of Sciences
  The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
  
  
• Phi Beta Kappa
• Sigma Xi
  Sigma Xi
  Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
  
  
• Alpha Omega Alpha
  Alpha Omega Alpha
  The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, commonly called Alpha Omega Alpha and abbreviated ΑΩΑ or AOA, is a national honor society for medical students, residents, scientists and physicians in the United States and Canada.-History:...
  
  
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
  American Association for the Advancement of Science
  The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
  
  
• American Physiological Society
  American Physiological Society
  The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 with 28 members. Of them, 21 were graduates of medical schools, but only 12 had studied in schools that had a professor of physiology. Today, the APS has 10,500 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other...
  
  
• Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
• American Surgical Association
  American Surgical Association
  The American Surgical Association is the nation's "oldest and most prestigious surgical organization".-History:It was founded in 1880. Their publication, Annals of Surgery, was started in 1885.- Heads :*Edward Mott Moore...
  
  
• American Society for Clinical Surgery
• American Gastroenterological Association
  American Gastroenterological Association
  The American Gastroenterological Association "AGA" is a medical association of gastroenterologists. About 17,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization.-Overview:...
  
  
• American College of Physicians
  American College of Physicians
  The American College of Physicians is a national organization of doctors of internal medicine —physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults. With 130,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in...
  
  
• American College of Surgeons
  American College of Surgeons
  The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
  
  
• American Medical Association
  American Medical Association
  The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
  
  
• Central Surgical Society
• Institute of Medicine of Chicago
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
  
  
• Honorary Member of the Surgical Societies of Seattle, Los Angeles, Detroit, Minneapolis, Southern California, Graduate Surgeons of Los Angeles, and Boston

Honorary Memberships in Foreign Organizations and Societies

• Surgical Society of Lyons
• Surgical Society of Paris
• Swedish Surgical Society
• Argentine Society of Gastroenterology
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
  Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
  The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada ' , French: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada, is a national, private, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada...
  
  
• Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
  Royal College of Surgeons of England
  The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
  
  
• National Academy of Medicine of Mexico
• Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala, Sweden (Foreign Corresponding Member)
• Academy of Surgery of France
• Association of Mexican Gastroenterologists

Honors and awards

American Honors and Awards

• 1945 Silver Medal of the American Medical Association
  American Medical Association
  The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
  
   for original investigation
• 1946 Gold Medal of the Illinois State Medical Society for original investigation
• 1950 Gold Medal of the American Medical Association for original investigation
• 1961 Samuel D. Gross Prize of the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery
• 1963 Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association for research, teaching, and surgical practice
• 1964 Julius Friedenwald Medal of the American Gastroenterological Association
  American Gastroenterological Association
  The American Gastroenterological Association "AGA" is a medical association of gastroenterologists. About 17,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization.-Overview:...
  
   for "Outstanding Achievement in Gastroenterology"
• 1964 Golden Plate from the Academy of Achievement
  Academy of Achievement
  The Academy of Achievement is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization founded in 1961 by photographer Hy Peskin. He established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with accomplished people...
  
  
• 1964 Henry Jacob Bigelow Medal of the Boston Surgical Society for "Contributions to the Advancement of Surgery"
• 1965 Annual Award of the Gastrointestinal Research Foundation
• 1969 Distinguished Service Award (the first) and Gold Medal of the American Surgical Association

Foreign Honors and Awards

• 1953 Honorary Professor of Surgery at the University of Guadalajara
  University of Guadalajara
  University of Guadalajara is a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. It is the second oldest university in Mexico, the fifth oldest in North America and the fourteenth oldest in Latin America...
  
  , Mexico
• 1965 Gold Medal of the Surgical Society of Malmo, Sweden
• 1967 Royal Order of the North Star of Sweden, bestowed by the King of Sweden, for "Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Surgery"
• 1969 Silver Plaque of the Institute of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition of Mexico City
• 1969 Silver Plaque of the Association of Mexican Gastroenterologists

Selected Biography

These are from the National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir.

1916

• With J. J. Moorhead and F. W. Burcky. The nature of the toxemia of intestinal obstruction. Preliminary report. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 14:17-19.

1917

• Contributions to the physiology of the stomach. XXXVIII. Gastric juice in duodenal and gastric ulcers. J. Am. Med. Assoc, 68:330-33.
• With J. J. Moorhead and F. W. Burcky. An experimental study of the intoxication in closed intestinal loops. J. Exp. Med., 25:421-39.

1922

• The pathogenesis of parathyroid tetany. J. Am. Med. Assoc, 79: 1593-94.

1923

• The pathogenesis of parathyroid tetany. Am. J. Physiol., 63:408—9.
• With S. C. Peacock. Studies on the pathogenesis of tetany. I. The control and cure of parathyroid tetany by diet. Am. J. Physiol., 64:424-34.
• With S. C. Peacock. The influence of parathyroidectomy on gastric secretion. Am. J. Physiol., 64:499-502.
• With K. Phillips and A. C. Sudan. Studies on the pathogenesis of tetany. II. The mechanism involved in recovery from parathyroid tetany. Am. J. Physiol., 65:368-78.

1924

• The resistance of various tissues to gastric digestion. Am. J. Physiol., 68:134.

1926

• With A. C. Sudan. Studies on the pathogenesis of tetany. V. The prevention and control of parathyroid tetany by calcium lactate. Am. J. Physiol., 77:296-306.
• With A. C. Sudan. Studies on the pathogenesis of tetany. VII. The prevention and control of parathyroid tetany by the oral administration of kaolin. Am. J. Physiol., 77:314—20.

1927

• The physiology of the parathyroid glands. Physiol. Rev., 7:499-530.

1929

• With J. C. Ellis. Effect of liver autolysis in vivo. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 26:304-5.
• With J. C. Ellis. Fatal effect of total loss of gastric juice. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 26:305-7.

1930

• With J. C. Ellis. Liver autolysis in vivo. Arch. Surg., 20:8—16.
• With M. L. Montgomery, W. B. Matthews, and J. C. Ellis. Fatal effect of the total loss of pancreatic juice. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 28:110-11.

1931

• With M. L. Montgomery, J. C. Ellis, and W. B. Matthews. The pathogenesis of acute dilatation of the stomach. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet., 52:1075-86.

1932

• With W. L. Palmer. Direct observations on the mechanism of pain in duodenal ulcer. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 29:753-55.
• With W. B. Matthews. The etiology of gastric and duodenal ulcer. Experimental Studies. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet., 55:265—86.

1933

• Ulcus acidum of Meckel's diverticulum. J. Am. Med. Assoc, 101:20-22.

1934

• With H. E. Haymond and J. C. Ellis. Pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis (acute pancreatic necrosis). Arch. Surg., 28:232-91.

1936

• Acid ulcer. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet., 62:118-20.
• With J. Van Prohaska and H. P. Harms. Observations on a substance in pancreas (a fat metabolizing hormone) which permits survival and prevents liver changes in depancreatized dogs. Am. J. Physiol., 117:175-81.

1938

• Lipocaic. A new pancreas hormone. Northwest Med., 37:33-36.
• With W. C. Goodpasture, C. Vermeulen, and P. B. Donovan. The Bromsulphalein liver function test as a method of assay of lipocaic. Am. J. Physiol., 124:642-46.

1939

• With C. D. Stewart, D. E. Clark, and S. W. Becker. The experimental use of lipocaic in the treatment of psoriasis. A preliminary report. J. Invest. Dermatol., 2:219-30.
• With P. B. Donovan, D. E. Clark, W. C. Goodpasture, and C. Vermeulen. The relation of lipocaic to the blood and liver lipids of depancreatized dogs. Am. J. Physiol., 127:755-60.
• With C. Vermeulen, W. C. Goodpasture, P. B. Donovan, and W. A. Geer. Lipocaic and fatty infiltration of the liver in pancreatic diabetes. Arch. Intern. Med., 64:1017-38.

1940

• With D. E. Clark, O. C. Julian, C. Vermeulen, and W. C. Goodpasture. Arteriosclerosis in pancreatic diabetes. Surgery, 8:353-61.

1942

• With C. Vermeulen, D. E. Clark, O. C. Julian, and J. G. Allen. Effect of the administration of lipocaic and cholesterol in rabbits. Arch. Surg., 44:260-67.

1943

• With F. M. Owens, Jr. Supra-diaphragmatic section of the vagus nerves in treatment of duodenal ulcer. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 53:152-54.

1945

• With T. F. Thornton, Jr. and E. H. Storer. Supra-diaphragmatic section of vagus nerves and gastric secretion in patients with peptic ulcer. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 59:140-41.
• With D. E. Clark and M. L. Eilert. Lipotropic action of lipocaic. A study of the effects of lipocaic, methionine and cystine on dietary fatty livers in the white rat. Am. J. Physiol., 144:620-25.

1946

• With M. L. Eilert. Lipotropic action of lipocaic: A study of the effect of oral and parenteral lipocaic and oral inositol on the dietary fatty liver of the white rat. Am. J. Physiol., 147:346-51.

1948

• With E. R. Woodward, E. B. Tovee, H. A. Oberhelman, Jr., and W. B. Neal, Jr. A quantitative study of the effect of vagotomy on gastric secretion in the dog. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.,

67:350-51.

• With E. R. Woodward and R. R. Bigelow. Quantitative study of effect of antrum resection on gastric secretion in Pavlov pouch dogs. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med., 68:473-74.

1950

• With E. R. Woodward, W. B. Neal, Jr., P. V. Harper, Jr., and E. H. Storer. Secretory studies on the isolated stomach. Arch. Surg. 60:1-20.
• With E. R. Woodward and R. R. Bigelow. Effect of resection of antrum of stomach on gastric secretion in Pavlov pouch dogs. Am. J. Physiol., 162:99-109.

1951

• With H. A. Oberhelman, Jr. and C. A. Smith. Experimental gastrojejunal ulcers due to antrum hyperfunction. Arch. Surg., 63:298-302.

1952

• With J. M. Zubiran, A. E. Kark, J. A. Montalbetti, and C. J. L. Morel. Peptic ulcer and the adrenal stress syndrome. Arch. Surg., 65:809-15.

1953

• With S. O. Evans, Jr., J. M. Zubiran, J. D. McCarthy, H. Ragins, and E. R. Woodward. Stimulating effect of vagotomy on gastric secretion in Heidenhain pouch dogs. Am. J. Physiol., 174:219-25.

1957

• With C. M. Baugh, J. Barcena, and J. Bravo. Studies on the site and mechanism of gastrin release. Surg. Forum, 7:356—60.
• With C. F. Mountain, J. H. Landor, J. D. McCarthy, and P. V. Harper, Jr. The secretory effect of gastric transection. Surg. Forum, 7:375-79.
• With J. Barcena, C. M. Baugh, J. L. Bravo, and C. F. Mountain. Effects of total pancreatectomy on gastric secretion. Surg. Forum, 7:380-82.

1962

• Section of the vagus nerves to the stomach in the treatment of duodenal ulcer. In: Surgery of the Stomach and Duodenum, ed. H. N. Harkins and L. M. Nyhus, pp. 461–72. Boston: Little, Brown.

1963

• With E. R. Woodward, C. L. Park, Jr., and H. Schapiro. Significance of Meissner's plexus in the gastrin mechanism. Arch. Surg., 87:512-15.

1965

• With C. de la Rosa and E. R. Woodward. Localization of the gastrinproducing cell. Surg. Forum, 16:327-29.

1968

• With D. R. Kemp, F. Herrera-Fernandez, and E. R. Woodward. Meissner's plexus and the mechanism of vagal stimulation of gastric secretion. Gastroenterology, 55:76-80.

1971

• With J. R. N. Curt, J. Isaza, and E. R. Woodward. Potentiation between intestinal and gastric phases of acid secretion in Heidenhain pouches. Arch. Surg., 105:709-12.

1973

• With G. Wickbom, M. A. Kamal, and E. R. Woodward. Corrosive effects of digestive juices on legs of living frogs. Am. Surgeon, 39:571-81.

1974

• With G. Wickbom, F. L. Bushkin, and C. Linares. On the corrosive properties of bile and pancreatic juice on living tissue in dogs. Arch. Surg., 108:680-84.

1976

• With J. B. Weeks, G. C. Petridis, and E. R. Woodward. A simplified method for chemical induction of gastric hypersecretion. J. Surg. Res., 21:357-58.