Morris Ziff

We, rheumatologists, practise in an era when the study of rheumatic diseases and the care of affected patients are rooted in rigorous scientific investigation. This was not the case before the mid-20th century, when Dr Morris Ziff and a few other Pillars of Rheumatology pioneered the application of rigorous basic and clinical science to a nascent field, in which affected people were often regarded as hopeless and incurable. It is important to recall that rheumatology is a very young discipline. Before 1937, there were only six major US centres of rheumatology, and their focus was mainly on disease description. Other than aspirin and gold salts, few specific therapies existed, and most patients were left to journey through the painful natural history of their disease without effective treatment. Three major advances transformed the field: the discovery of rheumatoid factor (RF) by Erik Waaler in 1940 (rediscovered by Harry Rose in...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - Category: Rheumatology Authors: Tags: ARD Heroes and pillars of rheumatology Source Type: research