The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-01-08
YOUNGEST DOCTOR THE WORLD.
Willie Gwin, Five Years Old, Puzzle Ply
sicians with His Remarkable knowledge
of Anatomy.
(From the Chicago Tribune. J

Little Willie Gwin Of Chicago Is the
only child who holds certificate of pro.
fioiency in anatomy from professors of
recognized medical colleges. Though
scarcely five years of age and no taller
than table, this little tot is perfectly
familiar with the human skeleton and
the work of the d1sseoting room. In fact
he has witnessed nearly every capital
operation known to surgery in the New
York, Louisville, New Orleans, and
Chicago hospitals.
The youngster is marvel of precooity,
and knows every bone in the human
body as well as does a medical student at
his final examination. That is not all
He can tell you with equal ease and &C
curacy everything that is to be known
about the heart structure and in complex
functions.
Little Willie Gwin has been in Chicago
about a year. His father, Howell b.
Gwin, M. D., is a physician, who about
that time located here. To his profess
ional brethren in Chicago he introduced
the. tot and surprised them on several DC
casions by asking them to question the
child about anatomy of the human body.
1t was then the little fellow became
pronounced sensation, for he made his
wise questioners and hearers open their
eyes and marvel that so small a head
could carry and accurately tell all about
osteology, and, Sin fact, about the various
systems of the human body. He is al
ready the talk of medical circles.
Shortly after coming to Chicago the
little fellow went to the operating room
of the Rush Medical College with his
father There Willie saw Surgeon-Gen-
eral Hamilton perform difficult opera
ton. He stood by the patient with the
wisdom and Indifference of the operator
himself, and saw every thing. 1t was an
operation for sarooma of the breast, and
the child can nowsdescribe it as well as
any surgeon, using the surgical ternino-
logy-words as long as an arm. He revels
in dissecting room, and will go among
a body of students or surgeons and mani
fest the liyeliest Interest in all that Is
going on.
Asaansevidence of the little fellows
self possession in dissecting room and
the interestshe manifests in Subject
| DIR. Gwin took him to the morgue in
| New Orleans. Asdead man had just been
brought in. having been killed by a
trolley car. The bodyswas manele led badly
| The frontal bone had been crushed in, as
| well as thessuperior maxillary and molar,
the nasal bone being broken and twisted
awry. The depression was large enough
to lay the hand in. Willie was taken to
thestable on which the stripped body lay,
and became at once absorbed in examin-
| ing the face wound. Like surgeon of
years experienceshe leaned over the body
and examined the injuries, lifting up
bone here and pressing the frontal and
maxillary there. Completing the dag
nosis, this tot of then four years was
asked by the father thesextent.of the in
juries. To this he readily replied, ex
planning each bone crushed and its loca-
| tion. The father then, with q scalpel,
made an incision behind the Leg ana
demonstrated, by exposing the main
| artery nerve and vein. the functions OF
the same. The child saw and to this day
can tell all about it. augmenting it, how
ever, with other knowledge in connection
| learned since by practical demonstration.
| Willie Gwin has two CERTIFICATES of
proficiency IN anatomy. One was given
him by Prof. Edmond Souchou of the
chair of anatomy, Tulane Unive sity,
| New. Orleans. Prof. Souchon examined
the child and certified that he found him
| the most thorough anatomist of his age in
osteolog and conformation of the heart
Richard Taylor, III. D., dean of the Hos
pital College of Louisville. after a care
full examination upon the osseous Esystem
and heart. He certifies that he found
Willie the most thoroughly posted child
he ever saw or read of, and believes him
to be the youngest anatomist in the
world, being only 5 1-2 years old.
The father, Dr. Gwin. told how the lad
came to know so much about anatomy,
and it..appears that interest in and ac
QUESTION Of his knowledge originated
rather accidentally.
s'In romping on the bed with him.
said the father, mot further back than
when he was three years DID, l used to
amuse him by telling him some difficult
names of bones in the body and taunt
him with being unable to repeat them.
He very rapidly caught the words and.
strangely enough, retained them without
any apparent effort. He then began to
associate the names of the bones and their
location, and 1t was not long before he
DISPLAYED u considerable knowledge of
anatomy He knew the bones and could
describe tLeir exact location, net parrot
fashion, as you have observed, for it
matters not where you locate a bone, he
knows its namo, and it matters not what
name you call he can point out and de-
scribe the bones location.
Zone day he happened in the office of a
physician friend of mine, who was much
interested in the tots remarkable aquire-
ments. and, moro In jest than in earnest
brought out piece of the human skull
and asked the child what it was. 1t was
separated from it's adjoining parts in a
manner the boy had not seen before, but
st,1dving it q moment, he told its scien-
tific name correctly. to my friends as
constituent.
THAT WAS A STAMPEDE.