Meyers, Morton A. 1933- (Morton Allen Meyers)

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Meyers, Morton A. 1933- (Morton Allen Meyers)

PERSONAL:

Born October 1, 1933. Education: State University of New York Upstate Medical College, M.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—East Setauket, NY.

CAREER:

State University of New York at Stony Brook, School of Medicine, emeritus professor of radiology and internal medicine, founding chair of the department of radiology.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen Gold Medal, American Roentgen Ray Society, 1975; gold medals from the University of Leeds, 1980, the Asian-Oceanian Congress of Radiology, 1987, the European Congress of Radiology, 1995, and the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association, 1998.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Diseases of the Adrenal Glands; Radiologic Diagnosis with Emphasis on the Use of Presacral Retroperitoneal Pneumography, Thomas (Springfield, IL), 1963.

Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen: Normal and Pathologic Anatomy, contribution in ultrasonography by Elias Kazam, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1976, 4th edition, 1994.

(Editor, with Gary G. Ghahremani) Iatrogenic Gastrointestinal Complications, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1981.

(Editor) Computed Tomography of the Gastrointestinal Tract: Including the Peritoneal Cavity and Mesentery, Springer-Verlag (New York, NY), 1986.

Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs, Arcade (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to books, reviews, and articles. Founding editor-in-chief of Gastrointestinal Radiology; served on the editorial boards of numerous journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Morton A. Meyers is a physician and an emeritus professor of radiology and internal medicine at the School of Medicine of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, where he is also the founding chair of the department of radiology. In addition, Meyers is the author and editor of several medical textbooks, and a contributor to numerous medical journals. He was the founding editor-in-chief of Gastrointestinal Radiology, which is now Abdominal Imaging, and has served on the editorial boards of many medical journals. Meyers received his M.D. from SUNY Upstate Medical College. He went on to complete an internship in medicine at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and later his residency in radiology at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He has been the recipient of many honors for his work in radiology, including the Wil- helm Conrad Roentgen Gold Medal from the American Roentgen Ray Society, and gold medals from the University of Leeds, the Asian-Oceanian Congress of Radiology, the European Congress of Radiology, and the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association.

The first medical textbook Meyers authored was 1963's Diseases of the Adrenal Glands; Radiologic Diagnosis with Emphasis on the Use of Presacral Retroperitoneal Pneumography, followed by Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen: Normal and Pathologic Anatomy, which was first published in 1976. Revised and updated numerous times, Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen deals with radiology of the abdomen as it relates to the progression of disease, providing insight on understanding and diagnosing intraabdominal disease. The book looks at the full range of diagnostic imaging tools, including plain films, conventional contrast studies, ultrasonography, CT, MRI, and endoscopic ultrasonography. Meyers is also the editor of Iatrogenic Gastrointestinal Complications and Computed Tomography of the Gastrointestinal Tract: Including the Peritoneal Cavity and Mesentery.

Unlike Meyers's previous works, 2007's Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs, although still medical in nature, is designed for a much broader audience. A Kirkus Reviews critic called it "illuminating science writing for the layman." Happy Accidents takes a look at accidental discoveries in four major areas (infectious diseases, cancer, heart disease, and mental health) throughout medical history, and how these discoveries have been used for mankind's benefit. Some of these serendipitous finds include penicillin, the Pap smear, lithium, and Viagra. "A skilled storyteller, Meyers explains in layman's terms the science involved" in these breakthroughs, observed a Kirkus Reviews critic. Meyers relies on personal experience, research, and interviews to bring together this collection of "happy accidents." On top of these discoveries, the book contains asides throughout that include anecdotes about lobotomies, the Laetrile hoax, Einstein's aortic aneurysm, and a urologist exposing himself at a conference to make a point, to name a few. Meyers has an underlying message in this book though, which is that creativity and innovation are being suffocated by bureaucracy in the United States. A Publishers Weekly critic felt that it would be hard to argue against "Meyers's criticism of a rigid scientific culture that discourages experimenters from keeping an eye out for the unexpected." He concludes the book by offering suggestions on how to create research and educational environments that nurture curiosity, creativity, and risk-taking. Library Journal reviewer Kathy Arsenault noted that Meyers's book both "entertains lay readers and challenges his professional colleagues." Booklist contributor Donna Chavez praised the book, saying that Happy Accidents "is a significant brief on creativity's critical role in medical research."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2007, Donna Chavez, review of Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs, p. 49.

Internet Bookwatch, August, 2007, review of Happy Accidents.

Journal of the American Medical Association, March 10, 1989, Richard Gore, review of Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen: Normal and Pathologic Anatomy, p. 1498; April 25, 2007, Robert Root-Bernstein, review of Happy Accidents, p. 1832.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2007, review of Happy Accidents.

Library Journal, March 15, 2007, Kathy Arsenault, review of Happy Accidents, p. 87.

New England Journal of Medicine, December 1, 1988, Norman Joffe, review of Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen, p. 1488; June 21, 2007, Alan Emery, review of Happy Accidents, p. 2658.

Publishers Weekly, January 15, 2007, review of Happy Accidents, p. 41.

Science News, March 24, 2007, review of Happy Accidents, p. 191.

SciTech Book News, September, 1988, review of Dynamic Radiology of the Abdomen, p. 21.