Dr William DeMonbreun: description of his contributions to our understanding of histoplasmosis and analysis of the significance of his work☆

Summary 

Histoplasmosis was proven to be a fungal infection 70 years ago by Dr William DeMonbreun, at the time an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at Vanderbilt Medical School. The significance of his work is analyzed in relationship to the evolution of knowledge about this important fungal infection. His discovery was also central to establishing the legitimacy of the recently reorganized medical school. Vanderbilt Medical School in 1925 was an experiment in building an educational institution essentially from scratch—the outcome of the experiment could be judged in the near term only by research productivity and Dr DeMonbreun's work was one of the 5 major discoveries made at Vanderbilt in the first decade of its existence. Further, his work is the bedrock on which Christie and Peterson later showed that histoplasmosis was endemic in the Ohio River Valley. Their studies plus a host of case reports and reviews up to recent times have contributed significantly to the academic standing of Vanderbilt.

Heretofore unpublished illustrations and details about the prototypic cases are included for historical purposes. New light is also shed on the chain of circumstances that led to Vanderbilt's role in the evolution of knowledge about histoplasmosis. Finally, information is provided about Dr DeMonbreun's career after his discovery.