Aldred Scott Warthin: Ann Arbor's Erudite, Outspoken, and Academically Transformative Early 20th Century Pathologist.

CONTEXT.—: Aldred Scott Warthin, MD, PhD, was professor of pathology and director of the pathological laboratory at the University of Michigan during the first third of the 20th century.

OBJECTIVE.—: To explore the life and accomplishments of Dr. Warthin and his impact on academic anatomic and clinical pathology.

DESIGN.—: Available primary and secondary historic sources were reviewed.

RESULTS.—: After studying music, biology, and botany, Warthin attended medical school at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1891; he remained in Ann Arbor for 40 years, almost single-handedly transforming a rundown department into a top academic department. He was a dedicated teacher who produced 2 important pathology textbooks. His research interests were diverse. In 1913, he published one of the first papers unambiguously documenting heritability of cancers; subsequent research on one of his cancer families resulted in the description of Lynch Syndrome. He published extensively in the fields of surgical pathology and experimental pathology. He was a recognized expert on syphilis and pathology of aging.

CONCLUSIONS.—: Warthin's name is eponymously associated with Warthin-Finkeldey giant cells in measles, Warthin's tumor of the parotid, and Warthin-Starry stain for the diagnosis of syphilis as well as Warthin's sign in the clinical diagnosis of pericarditis.