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B. Raymond Fink, M.D. (1914-2000)
4
B.
BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY
Raymond Fink, M.D. (1914 2000) -
by G. Ronald Stephen, M.D., G.M., DA. (Han.) Occasionally, as one travels the road of life, one meets someone who makes a lasting im pression and plays a never-to-be-forgotten role as he spreads his knowledge, abilities, leadership and good humor to all with whom he comes into contact. I first met Ray to become aware of his in nate graciousness and friendship in 1978 when he became a Trustee of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, and it was my good fortune to be associated with him until his untimely death toward the end of 2000. After first meeting Ray, it did not take long to realize that his experiences in life had sur passed those of most of his colleagues, al though we were not aware of them at the time. Ray was born in London, England, and grew up in Antwerp, Belgium. He entered medi cal school at the University of London in 1935 and received the M.B., B.S. in 1938. During World War II, from 1940-1945, he served as a Captain in the South African Medical Corps. From 1947-1949 he worked as a physician at a Methodist Mission Hospital in South Af rica. In 1950 he and his family immigrated to the United States and he completed a resi dency in Anesthesiology at the Beth Israel Hospital in New York. From 1952-1964 he was on the anesthesiology staff at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, serving as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology from 1959-1964. In 1964 he moved to Seattle, Washington, and was ap pointed Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington from 1964-1984, when he became Professor Emeritus until his demise. As one can see, Dr. Fink for most of his career was associated with medical schools, and what interested him most were researches in topics associated with the administration of anesthetics. Of the more than 100 papers and six books that he published, many were associated with functions of the human lar ynx. In recognition of this valuable work, he was awarded the "Excellence in Research Award" by the American Society of Anesthe siologists in 1987. After his appointment as a TI'ustee of the Wood Libraly-Museum of Anesthesiology, his most rewarding function was as Chairman of the Publications Committee. In 1995, af ter several books had been published under his aegis, he came up with the brilliant idea of publishing a series of books in which the autobiographies of well-known anesthesiolo gists would be published. After discussions with members of the Publications Commit tee, it was decided that the name of these books would be titled, Careers ill Allesthesiol ogy.
One can do no better than to quote from Dr. Fink's note preceding Volume 1 of Ca reers, which was published in 1997. "These memoirs inaugurate a new experiment in liv ing history from the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. They present autobio graphical panoramas of the protracted revo lution which overtook anesthetic practice in the second half of the century. Principal par ticipants here retell the motivations, actions, incidents and dominant events of their ca reers, virtually unburdened by limits of self expression." "Thanks to the vision of our Society, a large part of that comely building, which is the headquarters of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, is the Paul Wood Librmy-Museum territOlY. Inside and out, the entire edifice exudes pride and dedication to the ageless ideals of the physicians who planned, own and use it. Leroy Vandam's evocative painting, frontispiece to this and subsequent volumes, reflects the subtle uni fying role of the Society in the careers you are about to savor." Five volumes of Careers have now been published and the Publications Committee plans to continue this invaluable series. They will continue to be a lasting tribute to the revered Dr. B. Raymond Fink, who is recog nized as ''A Straight Man."
Monaco where he had been studying effects of anesthetics on lobster giant axons. Once his lab was up and running at the University of Washington, lobsters would arrive daily, flown in from Boston. Giant axons were ex tracted and studied. Many enjoyed the left overs, regretting when Ray's interests moved, as they characteristically did, on to new un knowns. For Ray and me, the constant over nearly four decades was our brown bag lunches. They were especially precious to me during my chairmanship years when these interludes of science and fantasy were stimulating coun terpoint to daily administrative fare. Ray nibbled on carrots and celelY, I on a peanut butter sandwich as we explored many ques tions, among them: How can we inculcate an appreciation for the rich histOlY of our specialty into trainees intent on mastering the here-and-now of
modern anesthesia practice? How do anesthetics work? And what is it that causes their at-times harmful toxicity? How does the human lmynx differ from that of other animals and how does the brain laryngeal connection enable our unique ca pacity for communication? And in recent years, I listened as Ray ex pounded on his conviction that the larynx was the portal determining the flow of energy into the body and as such played a critical role in enabling the special intelligence of our spe CIes. Equally memorable were the departmen tal Christmas parties with Ray's vibrant reci tations from memory of ''A Child's Christ mas in Wales." My visual memOlY is of an effelvescent Yuletide elf. I remember one day in the mid-1980s
Reminiscences by Thomas F. Hornbein, M.D. I first encountered Ray Fink during my anesthesia training more than four decades ago. I was attending when, one December during anesthesia training, I attended an af ternoon workshop of the NYPGA at Colum bia P&S, watching as Dr. Fink injected 150 mg. thiopental into the vein of a recumbent fellow faculty. We all waited suspensefully for perhaps half a minute until his volunteer began breathing again. Then, while the sub ject was still asleep, Ray Fink injected a sec ond thiopental dose of the same size. This time, contrary to the audiences' expectation, breathing continued unfazed. This, Ray ex plained, demonstrated the role of wakeful ness in normal ventilatOlY contro!' John Bonica recruited Ray to his fledg ling Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington to guide our bud ding research activities. Ray appeared on the scene in 1964, fresh from a sabbatical in
Contil/ued all Next Page
B.
BULLETIN OF ANESTHESIA HISTORY
Raymond Fink, M.D. (1914 2000) -
by G. Ronald Stephen, M.D., G.M., DA. (Han.) Occasionally, as one travels the road of life, one meets someone who makes a lasting im pression and plays a never-to-be-forgotten role as he spreads his knowledge, abilities, leadership and good humor to all with whom he comes into contact. I first met Ray to become aware of his in nate graciousness and friendship in 1978 when he became a Trustee of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, and it was my good fortune to be associated with him until his untimely death toward the end of 2000. After first meeting Ray, it did not take long to realize that his experiences in life had sur passed those of most of his colleagues, al though we were not aware of them at the time. Ray was born in London, England, and grew up in Antwerp, Belgium. He entered medi cal school at the University of London in 1935 and received the M.B., B.S. in 1938. During World War II, from 1940-1945, he served as a Captain in the South African Medical Corps. From 1947-1949 he worked as a physician at a Methodist Mission Hospital in South Af rica. In 1950 he and his family immigrated to the United States and he completed a resi dency in Anesthesiology at the Beth Israel Hospital in New York. From 1952-1964 he was on the anesthesiology staff at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, serving as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology from 1959-1964. In 1964 he moved to Seattle, Washington, and was ap pointed Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington from 1964-1984, when he became Professor Emeritus until his demise. As one can see, Dr. Fink for most of his career was associated with medical schools, and what interested him most were researches in topics associated with the administration of anesthetics. Of the more than 100 papers and six books that he published, many were associated with functions of the human lar ynx. In recognition of this valuable work, he was awarded the "Excellence in Research Award" by the American Society of Anesthe siologists in 1987. After his appointment as a TI'ustee of the Wood Libraly-Museum of Anesthesiology, his most rewarding function was as Chairman of the Publications Committee. In 1995, af ter several books had been published under his aegis, he came up with the brilliant idea of publishing a series of books in which the autobiographies of well-known anesthesiolo gists would be published. After discussions with members of the Publications Commit tee, it was decided that the name of these books would be titled, Careers ill Allesthesiol ogy.
One can do no better than to quote from Dr. Fink's note preceding Volume 1 of Ca reers, which was published in 1997. "These memoirs inaugurate a new experiment in liv ing history from the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. They present autobio graphical panoramas of the protracted revo lution which overtook anesthetic practice in the second half of the century. Principal par ticipants here retell the motivations, actions, incidents and dominant events of their ca reers, virtually unburdened by limits of self expression." "Thanks to the vision of our Society, a large part of that comely building, which is the headquarters of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, is the Paul Wood Librmy-Museum territOlY. Inside and out, the entire edifice exudes pride and dedication to the ageless ideals of the physicians who planned, own and use it. Leroy Vandam's evocative painting, frontispiece to this and subsequent volumes, reflects the subtle uni fying role of the Society in the careers you are about to savor." Five volumes of Careers have now been published and the Publications Committee plans to continue this invaluable series. They will continue to be a lasting tribute to the revered Dr. B. Raymond Fink, who is recog nized as ''A Straight Man."
Monaco where he had been studying effects of anesthetics on lobster giant axons. Once his lab was up and running at the University of Washington, lobsters would arrive daily, flown in from Boston. Giant axons were ex tracted and studied. Many enjoyed the left overs, regretting when Ray's interests moved, as they characteristically did, on to new un knowns. For Ray and me, the constant over nearly four decades was our brown bag lunches. They were especially precious to me during my chairmanship years when these interludes of science and fantasy were stimulating coun terpoint to daily administrative fare. Ray nibbled on carrots and celelY, I on a peanut butter sandwich as we explored many ques tions, among them: How can we inculcate an appreciation for the rich histOlY of our specialty into trainees intent on mastering the here-and-now of
modern anesthesia practice? How do anesthetics work? And what is it that causes their at-times harmful toxicity? How does the human lmynx differ from that of other animals and how does the brain laryngeal connection enable our unique ca pacity for communication? And in recent years, I listened as Ray ex pounded on his conviction that the larynx was the portal determining the flow of energy into the body and as such played a critical role in enabling the special intelligence of our spe CIes. Equally memorable were the departmen tal Christmas parties with Ray's vibrant reci tations from memory of ''A Child's Christ mas in Wales." My visual memOlY is of an effelvescent Yuletide elf. I remember one day in the mid-1980s
Reminiscences by Thomas F. Hornbein, M.D. I first encountered Ray Fink during my anesthesia training more than four decades ago. I was attending when, one December during anesthesia training, I attended an af ternoon workshop of the NYPGA at Colum bia P&S, watching as Dr. Fink injected 150 mg. thiopental into the vein of a recumbent fellow faculty. We all waited suspensefully for perhaps half a minute until his volunteer began breathing again. Then, while the sub ject was still asleep, Ray Fink injected a sec ond thiopental dose of the same size. This time, contrary to the audiences' expectation, breathing continued unfazed. This, Ray ex plained, demonstrated the role of wakeful ness in normal ventilatOlY contro!' John Bonica recruited Ray to his fledg ling Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Washington to guide our bud ding research activities. Ray appeared on the scene in 1964, fresh from a sabbatical in
Contil/ued all Next Page