Edmund Slocum Crelin, Jr. Ph.D. D.Sc (1923–2004) was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

from 1968 to 1991. He was born in

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan ...

on April 26, 1923, oldest son of Agatha Bublin Crelin and Edmund S. Crelin, Sr. He was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

of the 1942 senior class at Red Bank High School. After brief service in the United States Navy SeaBees during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he enrolled at Central College in

Pella, Iowa Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Founded by immigrants from the Netherlands, it is forty miles southeast of Des Moines. Pella is the home of Central College, ...

where he received his B.A.

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1947, majoring in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

. He enrolled at

and earned his Ph.D. from Yale University School of Medicine in 1951.

Career

Upon graduation from Yale, Crelin joined the School of Medicine faculty, became a Full Professor of Anatomy in 1968, served as department chairman from 1974 to 1984 and was awarded the honor of

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

upon his retirement in 1991. Crelin was a member of the American Association of Anatomists,

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

AAAS AAAS may refer to: * American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a learned society and center for policy research; the publisher of the journal ''Dædalus'' * American Association for the Advancement of Science, an organization that supports scientifi ...

and

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

, served as associate editor of the Anatomical Record from 1968 to 1974 and was an editor for Gray's Anatomy Crelin helped establish the Physician Associates program at the Yale University School of Medicine. As chairman of the Human Growth and Development Study Unit, he was instrumental in the genesis of Yale’s

neonatal An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used t ...

and

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies fr ...

units. Crelin was a consultant to the Newborn Special Care unit of the

Yale-New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System. YNHH includes the 168-bed Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven, the 201-bed Yale New Ha ...

. Crelin was a leading research scientist; his 159 published articles in medical and scientific journals cover cell cancer and bone research, development and physiology of

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tissue ...

s, human development and anthropological evolution of the human foot and the vocal tract. He was the author of three books. His self-illustrated ''Anatomy of the Newborn'', which took 6 years to complete, was the first atlas of human infant anatomy in medical history. Its accompanying text, ''Functional Anatomy of the Newborn,'' was published in 1973. Published in many languages, they are still considered premier references in the field. His third book, ''The Human Vocal Tract (Anatomy, Function, Development and Evolution)'' was published in 1987. Crelin died on June 21, 2004. He was married for 56 years, father of four and grandfather of 12 children

Honors

*Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1961 *Outstanding Research from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 1976 *Yale Physician’s Associate Program Award for most outstanding teacher in 1973 and 1980 * Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Central College in 1969 *Honorary appointment to the Yale Society of Distinguished Teachers, upon retirement after 40 years at Yale

References

Yale obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crelin, Edmund S., Jr. American anatomists Central College (Iowa) alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni Yale School of Medicine faculty 2004 deaths 1923 births People from Red Bank, New Jersey