Dr. Samuel Gross\u27 contributions to the field of surgery are well known and range from numerous clinical advances to pioneering scholarship and professional activities. Dr. Gross was ceaselessly ambitious and even remarked in his autobiography that his ‘‘conviction has always been that is far better for a man to wear out than to rust out.’’1 It is through this frame of motivation that Dr. Gross lived his life

Bucciarelli, B.S., Peter R.

Cowan, MD, Scott W.

Kairys, MD, John C

Rosato, MD, Ernest L.

Yeo, MD, Charles J.

English

Jefferson Digital Commons

Thomas Jefferson UniversityJefferson Digital CommonsDepartment of Surgery, Gibbon Society HistoricalProfiles Department of Surgery9-1-2013Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): an innovator,even in death.Peter R. Bucciarelli, B.S.Thomas Jefferson UniversityJohn C. Kairys, MDThomas Jefferson University, john.kairys@jefferson.eduErnest L. Rosato, MDThomas Jefferson University, Ernest.Rosato@jefferson.eduCharles J. Yeo, MDThomas Jefferson University, Charles.Yeo@jefferson.eduScott W. Cowan, MDThomas Jefferson University, Scott.Cowan@jefferson.eduLet us know how access to this document benefits youFollow this and additional works at: http://jdc.jefferson.edu/gibbonsocietyprofilesPart of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, and the Surgery CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Jefferson Digital Commons. The Jefferson Digital Commons is a service of ThomasJefferson University's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The Commons is a showcase for Jefferson books and journals, peer-reviewed scholarlypublications, unique historical collections from the University archives, and teaching tools. The Jefferson Digital Commons allows researchers andinterested readers anywhere in the world to learn about and keep up to date with Jefferson scholarship. This article has been accepted for inclusion inDepartment of Surgery, Gibbon Society Historical Profiles by an authorized administrator of the Jefferson Digital Commons. For more information,please contact: JeffersonDigitalCommons@jefferson.edu.Recommended CitationBucciarelli, B.S., Peter R.; Kairys, MD, John C.; Rosato, MD, Ernest L.; Yeo, MD, Charles J.; andCowan, MD, Scott W., "Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): an innovator, even in death." (2013).Department of Surgery, Gibbon Society Historical Profiles. Paper 18.http://jdc.jefferson.edu/gibbonsocietyprofiles/18Surgical HistorySamuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805–1884):An Innovator, Even in DeathPETER R. BUCCIARELLI, B.S., JOHN C. KAIRYS, M.D., ERNEST L. ROSATO, M.D., CHARLES J. YEO, M.D.,SCOTT W. COWAN, M.D.From the Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Medical College,Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaD R. SAMUEL D. GROSS’ contributions to the field ofsurgery are well known and range from numer-ous clinical advances to pioneering scholarship andprofessional activities. Dr. Gross was ceaselessly am-bitious and even remarked in his autobiography thathis ‘‘conviction has always been that is far better fora man to wear out than to rust out.’’1 It is through thisframe of motivation that Dr. Gross lived his life.Like the education of medical students today, anat-omy at the time of Dr. Gross was learned in the dis-secting room. Students then, like now, spent countlesshours pouring over the intricacies of the human form.An important distinction, however, between the mid-1800s and today is that cadavers that found their wayto the tables of anatomists then were often personsunlucky enough to fall victim to resurrectionists whodealt in the trade of the dead. Dr. Gross, on at least onerecorded occasion, has been connected to an attemptto bypass the middleman and directly obtain a cadaverfrom the grave.In 1833, while still a young physician in Easton, PA,after hearing news that a local, drunken soldier hadhanged himself, Gross is reported to have turned toa friend and said, ‘‘I want that fellow.’’ That night,Gross, along with two medial student accomplices,took a wheelbarrow and spade to the local cemeteryand began digging. As the story goes, the spade madetoo much noise and the mission was aborted becauseGross thought the risk of getting caught was too high.Two years after the alleged bodysnatching inci-dent, Gross delivered the first systematic course oflectures on morbid anatomy ever given in the UnitedStates as the chair of Pathological Anatomy in theMedical Department of Cincinnati College. Four yearsafterward, in 1839, he published his second text en-titled Elements of Pathological Anatomy that went onto produce three editions and is considered by some tobe his most original achievement; Rudolph Virchoweven claimed it to be one of the most prized posses-sions in his library.2Through the years, Dr. Gross grew to acknowledgethree problems with the traditional means of obtain-ing cadavers: first, that cadavers were often unknowingparticipants in medical education; second, that publicopinion was very much against the practice of robbinggraves; and third, that medical science was an expand-ing field drawing more and more students each yearmaking cadavers that much more scarce.So Gross was part of a committee along with Dr.William S. Forbes of Thomas Jefferson Medical Col-lege and Dr. D. Haynes Agnew of the University ofPennsylvania that passed a resolution of the Collegeof Physicians of Philadelphia in 1867 calling for thestate to pass the Anatomy Act of Pennsylvania, ‘‘Forthe Promotion of Medical Science and to prevent theTraffic in Human Bodies.’’ The act stipulated that in-digent citizens otherwise to be buried at public ex-pense were to be allocated to medical schools forscientific purposes, thereby quelling public fear thatany recently deceased person may wind up on the dis-secting table while also ensuring adequate specimensfor study.3 Originally ineffective as a result of mis-construed provisions that only exacerbated the prob-lem over the next decade and a half, a lasting solutionwas achieved in 1883 with an updated Anatomy Act.Although he retired in 1882, Dr. Gross was still ableto see the resolution of his earlier enlightened effortsto simultaneously assuage public fears while providingfor the advancement of medical science.Dr. Gross also devoted considerable thought towhat he wished to happen with his own remains aswell as to the larger issue of how society handles thegeographic and hygienic aspects of dealing with thedead. During Dr. Gross’s lifetime, cremation was con-sidered taboo, although public discussion and aware-ness about the topic had been increasing starting in the1870s. True to his academic nature, Gross cites in hisautobiography examples of European discourse on thematter, historical precedents in ancient Greece andRome, public addresses in Philadelphia, and prejudicesAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Scott W.Cowan, M.D., 1025 Walnut Street, Suite 607, Philadelphia, PA19107. E-mail: Scott.Cowan@jefferson.edu.899against the practice.1 Not surprisingly, his argumentis pragmatic and tinged with his own very personalexperiences. He cites the ‘‘scarcity and expense of suit-able cemeteries’’ in larger cities as well as stating hisopinion that cremation is ‘‘a thousand times prefera-ble’’ to underground burial as a hygienic matter. Per-haps most telling, he writes that, ‘‘A man who spendsmuch of his time in the dissecting-room, and looks atthe horrible features of the putrefying bodies as theylie before him upon the tables, is not likely to hesitatebetween burial and cremation.’’4Samuel Gross died on May 6, 1884, at nearly 79years of age. His will was found to specify exactly howhis wishes were to be executed from his autopsy, to hisfuneral party, to the specifics of his cremation, and,finally, to where his ashes were to be laid to rest. After asmall, private ceremony, Dr. Gross’ remains were trans-ported toWashington, Pennsylvania, where his body wascremated at the crematory of Dr. F. Julius LeMoyne,a fellow Jefferson Medical College graduate, who hadopened the crematory in 1876, the first in America(Fig. 1). On returning to Philadelphia, Dr. Gross’ re-mains were laid to rest in the family vault at WoodlandsCemetery, next to his late wife, Louissa Ann.The impact of Dr. Gross’ decision to be cremated,however, was that he was a high-profile early adopterof the practice. Numerous newspaper articles of theday reported and commented on his decision to becremated (Fig. 2). Although his influence on crema-tion is unable to be quantified, it should nonethelessbe recognized and appreciated.Samuel D. Gross was not afraid to identify andlead change in many aspects of medical and surgicalcare. It is his dealings with the treatment of the deadthat are particularly humanizing. Whether it was arenunciation of the status quo of the procurementFIG. 1. LeMoyne Crematory in Washington County, Pennsyl-vania, the first crematory in the United States and site of Dr. Gross’cremation. Reproduced from Wikimedia Commons. Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LeMoyneCrematory.jpg. AccessedFebruary 24, 2012.FIG. 2. Collage of newspaper clippings from Dr. Gross’ era in the wake of his cremation. Reproduced from collage of newspaperclippings from Dr. Gross’ era in the wake of his cremation; photographed and arranged by Peter Bucciarelli, June 2011. Collectionof Thomas Jefferson University Archives and Special Collections. Courtesy of F. Michael Angelo, M.A., University Archivist/SpecialCollections Librarian.THE AMERICAN SURGEON September 2013900 Vol. 79of cadavers for medical research or by serving as apowerful example of cremation, Dr. Gross never stoppedobserving and reflecting on the world in which helived. True to his notion of applying oneself to thefullest, Dr. Gross showed us that it is possible to con-tinually find ways to innovate. Even in death.REFERENCES1. Gross SD. Autobiography of Samuel D. Gross, MD. WithSketches of His Contemporaries. Vol. 2. Edited by his sons. Phil-adelphia, PA: George Barrie; 1887.2. Rohrer CW. Professor Samuel D. Gross: America’s Fore-most Surgeon. Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin. 1912;23:83–94.3. Forbes WS. History of the Anatomy Act of Pennsylvania.1898. History of the Anatomy Act of Pennsylvania, WS Forbes,1898. Paper 1. Available at: http://jdc.jefferson.edu/anatomy_act_of_penn/1. Accessed June 13, 2011.4. Chapter XI, pp. 204–18, 2009 The Jefferson Medical Collegeof Philadelphia, Benefactors, alumni, hospital etc. Its founders,officers, instructors, 1826–1904. A History (Volume 1). Paper 12.Available at: http://jdc.jefferson.edu/gould1/12. Accessed June 13,2011.No. 9 SAMUEL D. GROSS, M.D. ? Bucciarelli et al. 901

Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): an innovator, even in death.

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Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): an innovator, even in death.

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