Dr Wilder Graves Penfield, CC, OM, CMG, MD, FRS (January 25/26, 1891 – April 5, 1976) was a American-born Canadian neurosurgeon. The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means, Desiring a better country. ... For other Orders see Order of Merit (disambiguation). ... On the Orders insignia, St Michael is often depicted subduing Satan. ... The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a an degree held by medical doctors. ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society is composed of 1292 of the most distinguished scientists from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating the central and peripheral nervous system. ...

He was born in Spokane, Washington, and studied at Princeton University before winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and obtaining his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He spent several years training at Oxford (where he knew William Osler), and in Spain , Germany and New York. Spokane (pronounced spō-CAN ) is the county seat of Spokane County in the State of Washington, USA. It is also known as the seat of the Inland Empire. ... Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey, is the fifth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. ... Rhodes House in Oxford The Rhodes Scholarships were created by Englishman Cecil John Rhodes and have been awarded to applicants annually since 1902 by the Oxford-based Rhodes Trust on the basis of academic qualities, as well as those of character. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The Johns Hopkins University is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ... The Four Doctors by John Singer Sargent, 1905. ... Official language(s) English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...

Penfield was a groundbreaking researcher and devoted surgeon. He treated patients with severe epilepsy by destroying nerve cells in the brain where the seizures originated. Before operating, he stimulated the brain with electrical probes while the patients were conscious on the operating table (under only local anesthesia), and observed their responses. In this way he could more accurately target the areas of the brain responsible, reducing the side-effects of the surgery. Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), acts as the control center of the central nervous system. ... Local anesthesia is any technique to render part of the body insensitive to pain without affecting consciousness. ... Adverse effect, in medicine, is an abnormal, harmful, undesired and/or unintended side-effect, although not necessarily unexpected, which is obtained as the result of a therapy or other medical intervention, such as drug/chemotherapy, physical therapy, surgery, medical procedure, use of a medical device, etc. ...

This technique also allowed him to create maps of the sensory and motor cortices of the brain showing their connections to the various limbs and organs of the body. These maps are still used today, practically unaltered. This work contributed a great deal to understanding the ateralization of brain function. He also discovered that stimulation of the temporal lobes could lead to vivid recall of memories. // Early work on motor cortex function Back in the 1940s, Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield wanted to know which bits of epileptics brains he could suck out without them noticing. ... In neuroanatomy the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain. ... The temporal lobe is part of the cerebrum. ...

During his life he was called "the greatest living Canadian." He devoted much thinking to the functionings of the mind, and continued until his death to contemplate whether there was any scientific basis for the existence of the human soul.

He moved to Montreal in 1928 to teach at McGill University and became the city's first neurosurgeon. In 1934 he became the first Director of McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute and the associated Montreal Neurological Hospital, which he helped establish with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. He retired in 1960. This article needs cleanup. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... McGill University (Université McGill), is a publicly funded, research-intensive, non-denominational, co-educational university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... The Rockefeller Foundation is a charitable organization that operates out of New York City. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1994 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means, Desiring a better country. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. ...

Avenue Docteur-Penfield, on the slope of Mount Royal in Montreal, was named in Penfield's honour on October 5, 1978. Part of this avenue borders McGill's campus. Alternate uses: Mount Royal (disambiguation) Mount Royals eastern slope, with the cross and the monument to Sir George-Étienne Cartier, seen from avenue du Parc Mount Royal (French: mont Royal) is a mountain on the Island of Montreal, immediately north of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

Trivia

In science fiction author Philip K. Dick's masterpiece "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," characters use a household device called a Penfield Mood Organ to dial up emotions on demand. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 — March 2, 1982), often known by his initials PKD, and sometimes by the pen name Richard Phillips, was an American science fiction writer and novelist who changed the genre profoundly. ... Cover of the 1977 Grenada edition of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a 1968 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. ...

External links

• Penfield's Order of Canada Citation
• Watch the Heritage Minute vignette