Walter Edward Dandy Collection

Biography

Walter Edward Dandy was born in Sedalia, Missouri. He received his A.B. in 1907 from the University of Missouri and his M.D. in 1910 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dandy spent a year working with Harvey Cushing in the Hunterian Laboratory at Johns Hopkins before beginning his internship and residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1914 and remained there until his death in 1946. One of his most important contributions to neurosurgery was the method of air contrast ventriculography, where cerebrospinal fluid is replaced by air to form X-ray images of the ventricular spaces within the brain. This technique was extremely successful in revealing lesions and defects in the brain. Dandy also pioneered advances in operations for Ménière’s disease and glossopharangeal neuralgia and published studies showing the involvement of protruding discs in sciatic pain.

Scope and Content

The Walter Edward Dandy Collection spans his entire career. Series include correspondence, manuscripts, scientific notes, student notebooks, patient lists, and reprints. Manuscripts pertain to such topics as aneurysms, general brain surgery, benign tumors in the third ventricle of the brain, and intracranial neoplasms in children. Of special interest are Dandy’s scientific notes on hypophysectomy experiments. Also included in the collection is a plaster-cast mask of Dandy. The collection is a strong resource for studying the development of the field of neurosurgery.

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