Silas Weir Mitchell

Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914), distinguished American physician and neurologist who contributed to the knowledge of peripheral nerves and established a rest treatment for nervous disorders. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mitchell attended the University of Pennsylvania until illness forced his withdrawal. After receiving his M.D. degree in 1850 from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Mitchell spent a year of study abroad. Returning to Philadelphia in 1852, he engaged in private practice and taught medicine at the Philadelphia Polyclinic Hospital. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), he served as a surgeon in the Union army and was a member of the sanitary commission, studying nerve wounds and diseases in army camps and hospitals.

After the Civil War, Mitchell won international recognition as a neurologist. In addition to studying nerves and nervous disorders, he observed the effects of drugs and of nonmedical treatments upon his patients, investigated opium and its derivatives, introduced inhalations of amyl nitrate as a means of controlling epileptic seizures, employed splints in sciatica treatment, and used ice and freezing sprays to relieve pain and spasms. His medical works include Reflex Paralysis (1864) and Diseases of the Nervous System (1881).