Wilder G. Penfield (1891-1976), neurosurgeon and scientist.

Clarence Sumnergreene, Sr.: The First African-American Neurosurgeon.

Largely because of the advances of the Civil Rights movement in the mid-20th century, an increasing number of African-Americans have had the opportunity to become physicians and enter the distinguished field of neurosurgery. Many have made the most of this opportunity, becoming prominent in both academics and private practice. Unfortunately, the details regarding the first African-American neur...

Stimulation of the human cortex and the experience of pain: Wilder Penfield's observations revisited.

Thanks to the seminal work of Wilder Graves Penfield (1891-1976) at the Montreal Neurological Institute, electrical stimulation is used worldwide to localize the epileptogenic cortex and to map the functionally eloquent areas in the context of epilepsy surgery or lesion resections. In the functional map of elementary and experiential responses he described through >20 years of careful explorati...

A bedside conversation with Wilder Penfield.

1976, I served as an intern in internal medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal, Quebec after graduating from Emory University School of Medicine. At that time, interns were still given their own on-call room. My pre-morning rounds ritual consisted of a maple donut and orange juice at the hospital coffee shop, while also devouring The Star, The Gazette and La Presse. Olympic fever w...

No specialty alone: the Wilder Penfield strategy.

The Montreal Neurological Institute: training of the first African-American neurosurgeons.

BACKGROUND Since its inception in 1934 by the legendary Dr. Wilder Penfield, the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) has provided world-renowned instruction in neurosurgery and related neurosciences, training many of the most prominent figures in the history of neurosurgery. Less well known is the role of the MNI in training the first African-American board-certified neurosurgeons. METHODS ...