James B. Herrick

James Herrick
Herrick in 1927
Born	11 August 1861 Oak Park, Illinois
Died	7 March 1954 (aged 92) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Michigan Rush Medical College
Known for	Sickle-cell disease Myocardial infarction
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine

James Bryan Herrick (11 August 1861 in Oak Park, Illinois – 7 March 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American physician and professor of medicine who practiced and taught in Chicago. He is credited with the description of sickle-cell disease and was one of the first physicians to describe the symptoms of myocardial infarction.

Biography

Herrick was born in Oak Park, Illinois, of parents Origen White Herrick and Dora Kettlestrings Herrick (who was considered the oldest native daughter of Oak Park, because her father had homesteaded there).^[1] He attended Oak Park and River Forest High School and nearby Rock River Seminary. He received a BA degree from the University of Michigan in 1882, after which he taught school in Peoria, Illinois and Oak Park.^[2]

Herrick married Zellah P. Davies of Oak Park.^[3] After a few years of teaching in the public schools he entered Rush Medical College, and received a medical degree in 1888. He interned at Cook County Hospital, after which he opened a private practice in the Chicago area. He also obtained a part-time teaching position at Rush College, and was listed as a full professor there from 1900 through 1927. He was also on the staff of Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago from 1895 through 1945.^[3]

Medical discoveries

Herrick studied and taught at various Chicago hospitals. His first discovery, in 1910, was that of sickle-shaped red blood cells on the blood film of a dental^[4] student from Grenada. His description of the student's disease was known for many years as Herrick's syndrome, and is now known as sickle-cell disease. The condition is prevalent in West Africa.

Herrick's second major contribution was a landmark article on myocardial infarction ("heart attack") in JAMA in 1912.^[5][6] He proposed that thrombosis in the coronary artery leads to the symptoms and abnormalities of heart attacks and that this was not inevitably fatal. While Herrick was not the first to propose this, ultimately his article was the most influential, although at the time it received only limited attention. In 1918 he was one of the first to encourage electrocardiography in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

Herrick is not closely associated with genetics, but his discoveries turned out to be inherited traits, so his contributions pointed other researchers toward genetically-based conditions.^[1]

Books

• Herrick, J. B. (1895). A Handbook of Medical Diagnosis for Students. United States: Lea Brothers & Company.
• James Bryan Herrick - an appreciation - a compilation of Herrick papers, edited by William W. Holmes. Published in 1935 LCCN: 36014236 LC: R154.H38H6 ^[7]

Services, awards and honors

Herrick served as president of several medical associations, including the Chicago Pathological Society, the Chicago Society of Internal Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, the American Heart Association, the Institute of Medicine (Chicago chapter), and the Society of Medical History (Chicago chapter).^[3]

He received an honorary degree (Master of Arts) from the University of Michigan (1907), and an honorary degree (Doctor of Law) from UM (1932).^[3]

He received the George H. Kober Medal from the Association of American Physicians (1930).

Herrick received the Distinguished Service Cross from the American Medical Association (1939).^[8]

He traveled several times to Europe in order to further his medical education.^[3] He actively participated in and supported the Chicago Literary Club all his life. He was an avid student of Geoffrey Chaucer's writings.

The collected papers were donated to Rush Medical College after his death.^[9] A portion of his collected papers had also been donated to the University of Chicago before his death.^[10]

He is commemorated by an annual award and a memorial lecture.

References

Herrick's papers

• Herrick JB (1910). "Peculiar elongated and sickle-shaped red blood corpuscles in a case of severe anemia". Archives of Internal Medicine. 6 (5): 517–21. doi:10.1001/archinte.1910.00050330050003. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
• Herrick JB (October 1983). "Landmark article (JAMA 1912). Clinical features of sudden obstruction of the coronary arteries. By James B. Herrick". JAMA. 250 (13): 1757–65. doi:10.1001/jama.250.13.1757. PMID 6350634.
• Herrick JB (1918). "Concerning thrombosis of the coronary arteries". Transactions of the Association of American Physicians. 33: 408–15.

About Herrick

• Hammerschmidt DE (2002). "About the cover illustration: James Herrick and the description of sickle-cell disease". Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. 139 (2): 126. doi:10.1067/mlc.2002.122233. PMID 11926226.
• Cheng TO (August 2002). "James Herrick, sickle cell disease, and the thrombogenic theory of myocardial infarction". The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. 140 (2): 126. doi:10.1067/mlc.2002.125906. PMID 12228769.
• Hammerschmidt DE (February 2002). "James Herrick and the description of sickle-cell disease". The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. 139 (2): 126. doi:10.1067/mlc.2002.122233. PMID 11926226.
• Haller JO, Berdon WE, Franke H (December 2001). "Sickle cell anemia: the legacy of the patient (Walter Clement Noel), the interne (Ernest Irons), and the attending physician (James Herrick) and the facts of its discovery". Pediatric Radiology. 31 (12): 889–90. doi:10.1007/s002470100014. PMID 11727028. S2CID 1128038.
• James TN (18 April 2000). "Homage to James B. Herrick: a contemporary look at myocardial infarction and at sickle-cell heart disease: the 32nd Annual Herrick Lecture of the Council on Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association". Circulation. 101 (15): 1874–87. doi:10.1161/01.cir.101.15.1874. PMID 10769291.
• Acierno LJ, Worrell LT (March 2000). "James Bryan Herrick". Clinical Cardiology. 23 (3): 230–2. doi:10.1002/clc.4960230322. PMC 6655071. PMID 10761818.
• Ramanan SV (October 1998). "James Bryan Herrick: a man of intellectual muscle". Connecticut Medicine. 62 (10): 601–4. PMID 9821724.
• Willerson JT (1 April 1994). "James B. Herrick Memorial Lecture". Circulation. 89 (4): 1875–81. doi:10.1161/01.cir.89.4.1875. PMID 8149552.
• Sobel BE (1 June 1993). "The structure of cardiological revolutions. James B. Herrick Lecture". Circulation. 87 (6): 2047–54. doi:10.1161/01.cir.87.6.2047. PMID 8504520.
• Hakulinen E (March 1990). "The man behind the syndrome. James B Herrick: the discoverer of sickle cell anemia. His first case report received scant interest--only in the 1950s was the role of "moon-crescent" shape considered" [The man behind the syndrome. James B Herrick: the discoverer of sickle cell anemia. His first case report received scant interest--only in the 1950s was the role of "moon-crescent" shape considered]. Läkartidningen (in Swedish). 87 (13): 1061–2. PMID 2181218.
• Breathnach CS (June 1985). "Biographical sketches--53. Herrick". Irish Medical Journal. 78 (6): 173. PMID 3891680.
• Herrick JB (October 1983). "Landmark article (JAMA 1912). Clinical features of sudden obstruction of the coronary arteries. By James B. Herrick". JAMA. 250 (13): 1757–65. doi:10.1001/jama.250.13.1757. PMID 6350634.
• Ross RS (1 May 1983). "A parlous state of storm and stress. The life and times of James B. Herrick". Circulation. 67 (5): 955–9. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.67.5.955. PMID 6339113.
• Rhoads PS (1982). "James B. Herrick, M.D. Born August 11, 1861--Died March 7, 1954". The Proceedings of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. 35 (1): 3–6. PMID 7043453.
• Harvey AM (May 1980). "Classics for clinical science: from horse and buggy doctor to clinical investigator: the story of James Bryan Herrick". The American Journal of Medicine. 68 (5): 639–41. doi:10.1016/0002-9343(80)90242-9. PMID 6990757.
• Burchell HB (March 1973). "The relevance of irrelevance. Remarks on receiving the James B. Herrick Award, American Heart Association". Circulation. 47 (3 Suppl): I1–6. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.47.3S1.I-1. PMID 4571061. S2CID 22194468.
• "James B. Herrick (1861-1954)". JAMA. 186 (7): 722–3. November 1963. doi:10.1001/jama.1963.03710070124018. PMID 14053375.
• Siegel R (May 1958). "The man who discovered coronary thrombosis; James Brain Herrick, 1861-1954". The Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey. 55 (5): 201–4. PMID 13525932.
• Irons EE (1954). "James Bryan Herrick, 1861-1954". Transactions of the Association of American Physicians. 67: 15–9. PMID 13216803.

External links

• Works by or about James B. Herrick at Internet Archive
• Biography at whonamedit.com
• Guide to the James Brian Herrick Papers 1886-1953 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center