Frank Vertosick, Jr. is an American

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...

. He is best known as the author of the book ''When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales of Neurosurgery'', which chronicles his neurosurgical residency training. He also authored ''Why We Hurt: The Natural History of Pain'' (2000) and ''The Genius Within: Discovering the Intelligence of Every Living Thing'' (2002). Born in 1955 in Harwick, Pennsylvania, Vertosick attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

where he majored in physics before entering the

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, encompasses both a medical program, offering the doctor of ...

. He stayed at the University of Pittsburgh for his residency training in neurosurgery.Weisberg, Deborah
"A Warrior Against Pain"
''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'', Pittsburgh, 7 November 2000. Retrieved on 23 December 2011. After residency, he served as the Associate Chief of Neurosurgery and Associate Director for Neuro-Oncology at

Western Pennsylvania Hospital The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, commonly referred to as "West Penn Hospital", is located at 4800 Friendship Avenue in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 317-bed hospital is part of the Allegheny Health Network. It ser ...

in Pittsburgh. He retired from surgery due to Parkinson's disease in 2002, but still treats office patients in Washington, Pennsylvania. Vertosick is also a black belt in

tang soo do Tang Soo Do (; ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean martial art based on karate which can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts. From its beginnings in 1944 to today, Tang Soo Do is used by ...

and was a consultant to the head writer of the TV drama

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series created by David E. Kelley, that originally aired for six seasons on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000, with a total of 141 episodes. The series is set in a fictional pr ...

References

External links

''When the Air Hits Your Brain'' on Amazon.com

Dr. Frank Vertosick Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vertosick, Frank 1955 births Living people People from Springdale Township, Pennsylvania American neurosurgeons Physicians from Pennsylvania American male writers Date of birth missing (living people)