Remembrance of things adrenal: a historical perspective

The writing of this reminiscence was prompted by the 50th anniversary of the announcement, at the Mayo Clinic staff meeting in April 1949, of the anti-inflammatory property of cortisone. This account will include some of the names of early contributors to the field of adrenal physiology at the Mayo Clinic, who may be unfamiliar to some endocrinologists currently in practice. Dr. Robert M. Salassa, in particular, was a major force in developing better means of diagnosis and treatment of adrenal disease. During my first rotation as a resident physician on the hospital metabolic service in the autumn of 1945, the care of patients with Addison's disease was a major component of the responsibilities. Although today more sophisticated and precise methods are available for evaluating and treating disorders of the adrenal cortex than in the past, I hope that this remembrance of how things were a generation or so ago provides some historical perspective into the journey toward our understanding of things adrenal.