farmdoc's blog post number 35

Because in the 19th century there were no MRI scanners, reaching diagnoses relied more on interview and physical examination findings than is so today. Joseph Bell (1837-1911), a Scottish surgeon and Edinburgh University lecturer, prided himself on using all his senses to diagnose the seemingly undiagnosable. In 1878 Bell’s clerk was a medical student then named Arthur Doyle (the Conan came later) whom Bell selected as his assistant. Doyle, after presenting his case findings to Bell, was astounded by Bell’s deductions even before Bell had questioned or examined the patient. And so, history records, Bell was the inspiration for the most famous detective ever – Sherlock Holmes – who first appeared in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet. Since I can’t remember when, I have been a Holmes devotee. I am the proud owner of a modest collection of Sherlockiana comprising books, a deerstalker hat, and an authentic brick from 221B Baker Street which was demolished in 1980. And for a time I was a member of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London. Since 1987 my doctoring work has had forensic undertones. Though no medical genius, I am methodical and obsessional. I adhere to the aphorism that in medicine more is missed by not looking than not knowing. Therefore I look. Holmes, Doyle and Bell have taught me well.