Henry P. Bowditch's forgotten contributions to radiology.

Bowditch, born in Boston on April 4, 1840, was exposed to science at a very young age by his grandfather, Nathaniel Bowditch, who was well known in America and Europe as a mathematician and astronomer. The Bowditches lived comfortably enough to educate their children in private schools, and in 1857 Henry entered Harvard College, graduating in 1 861 . Soon thereafter he enlisted in the Union Army, actively participating in the Civil War as a cavalry officer. Bowditch was wounded in the arm by rifle shot in late 1863 during the Mine Run Campaign [1], but had recovered sufficiently to reenlist the next spring, “becoming an officer of a colored regiment at a time when such a step required the courage of conviction” [2]. He continued through to the end of the war, actually being one of the first Union officers to enter Richmond. Bowditch’s war experiences are relevant to his career as a scientist, because his bullet wound would, some 30 years later, be used to test his physiologic theories. After the Civil War, Bowditch’s medical research career continued with renewed interest and vigor. He completed his medical degree requirements at Harvard in 1868, and with the financial support of his father, arranged to initially study in the Paris laboratory of C. E. Brown-S#{233}quard. After a few months in France, Bowditch moved east to study in Leipzig under Carl Ludwig. He performed physiologic experiments in Germany for 2 years, during which he became more dedicated to a career in scientific research. His return to the United States was prompted by an invitation from Charles Eliot, president of Harvard, to develop an active physiology program at Harvard Medical School. Bowditch agreed, and after purchasing the required equipment necessary to begin laboratory investigations of his own, returned to Harvard as assistant professor of physiology [3]. During the next 20 years, Bowditch flourished at Harvard. His laboratory was acknowledged by many as the first to be used widely by medical students and faculty within the American university system. He became professor of physiology in 1876 and dean of the medical school in 1 883. In 1 893, however, he resigned his administrative position as dean and returned to the department of physiology as chair. By 1895, Bowditch’s reputation was established in the United States and abroad. He had successfully begun the first physiology laboratory in the United States used to educate medical students and had incorporated research into the medical curriculum at Harvard through his influence as professor of physiology. At age 55, he had achieved international fame as a scientist and could certainly have rested on his accomplishments if he had so chosen.