It is always curious to reflect upon the episodes in one's life—often quite inconsequential at the moment of their happening—that modify the subsequent course of events. Most often, it is the impact of one or several people, either from personal contact or through their words, eg, as written in a book.
As a House Officer there were perhaps two or three physicians and an equal number of books that played significant roles in my selection of a career pattern and life style. And one of the books that influenced me greatly was MacBryde, the third edition.
I recall the book with pleasure. It was like reading a good novel. Here were all the answers to the mysteries—the explanation for the curious constellations of signs and symptoms I was encountering each day on the wards. It provided the link between the classic texts of physiology, whose fare was often parched and