Percival Sylvester Bailey (May 9, 1892 – August 10, 1973) was an American

neuropathologist Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the cli ...

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, ...

and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

who was a native of rural southern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He originally studied to become a teacher at Southern Illinois Normal University, but transferred to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1912, where he became interested in

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

. In 1918 he graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in Evanston, and in 1919 became an assistant to

Harvey Cushing Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgery, neurosurgeon, pathologist, writer, and draftsman. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first exclusive neurosurgeon and the first person to describe Cush ...

at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In 1928 he became head of the neurosurgical department at the

, and in 1939 was professor of neurology and neurological surgery at the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. From 1951 he was director of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute. Percival Bailey is remembered for his collaborative work with

, and his important work involving the classification of

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

s, which prior to his research was in a state of disarray and confusion. From 1922 to 1925, Bailey performed extensive

pathological Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and

histological Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...

studies of brain tumors, and based on cellular configuration, he created a classification system of thirteen categories. In 1927, he reduced the number of categories to ten. In 1925, Bailey identified a mid-cerebellar

glioma A glioma is a type of primary tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain or spinal cord. They are malignant but some are extremely slow to develop. Gliomas comprise about 30% of all brain and central nervous system tumors and 80% of ...

that is usually associated with childhood called a

medulloblastoma Medulloblastoma is a common type of primary brain cancer in children. It originates in the part of the brain that is towards the back and the bottom, on the floor of the skull, in the cerebellum, or posterior fossa. The brain is divided into two ...

, of which he published an important paper with Cushing titled '' Medulloblastoma Cerebelli''. The two doctors are credited with coining the term "

hemangioblastoma Hemangioblastomas, or haemangioblastomas, are vascular tumors of the central nervous system that originate from the vascular system, usually during middle age. Sometimes, these tumors occur in other sites such as the spinal cord and retina. They m ...

". With

Paul Bucy Paul Bucy (; November 13, 1904 – September 22, 1992) was an American neurosurgeon and neuropathologist who was a native of Hubbard, Iowa. He is known both for his part in describing the Klüver–Bucy syndrome, his academic life as a teache ...

(1904-1992), Bailey made investigations involving the structure of intracranial tumors and

meningeal In anatomy, the meninges (; meninx ; ) are the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord. In mammals, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Cerebrospinal fluid is located in the subarachnoid spa ...

tumors. The two men were able to confirm that a specific type of tumor (now known as an

oligodendroglioma Oligodendrogliomas are a type of glioma that are believed to originate from the oligodendrocytes of the brain or from a oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, glial precursor cell. They occur primarily in adults (9.4% of all primary brain and central ne ...

) consisted of oligodendroglia. With Gerhardt von Bonin (1890-1979), Bailey authored two works, "The Neocortex of the Chimpanzee" in 1950 and "The Isocortex of Man" in 1951, which provided an accurate description concerning the

cytoarchitecture Cytoarchitecture (from Greek κύτος 'cell' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope. Cytoarchit ...

of the

cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. It is the largest site of Neuron, neural integration in the central nervous system, and plays ...

. As a psychiatrist, Bailey was a vocal critic of

Freudian psychology PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk the ...

, which he considered speculative and unscientific. In 1965, he published a book about

Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

titled "Sigmund The Unserene".

References

*Bucy, Paul C.
Percival Bailey 1892-1973
. Washington D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1989. * Ferguson, Sherise and Maciej S. Lesniak.
Percival Bailey and the Classification of Brain Tumors
. ''Neurosurgical Focus''. Vol. 18. No. 4. (April 2005).

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Percival American psychiatrists American neurologists American neurosurgeons 1973 deaths 1892 births 20th-century American surgeons University of Chicago alumni Scientists from Illinois University of Illinois Chicago faculty University of Chicago faculty Northwestern University alumni Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Neuropathologists