TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN CLINICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 126, 2015
MEMORIAL THOMAS RUSSELL HENDRIX, M.D. 1920 –2013
I first met Dr. Hendrix in September 1972 when he was the teaching attending physician on the Osler Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and I was a senior medical student. It was the first day of my 9-week Osler medicine clerkship and I had just finished presenting a case to Dr. Hendrix. His first question, which I have never forgotten, was “Do you think that alcoholism is a disease?” Tom was an outstanding clinician, researcher, and educator who led the Division of Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins for more than three decades. xcvi
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He was born in Fort Ancient, Ohio on October 17, 1920 and died of complications of heart surgery on December 23, 2013. He was raised on a farm in Tarzana, California and always considered California his home. He began his college education at the University of California in 1938, but he was called to active duty in 1941. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, took part in combat, and was a navigator and combat intelligence officer who began his service on Admiral Nimitz’s staff. As an officer on the USS Mitchell, he took part in every major naval battle in the Pacific. During his time in the Navy, he developed a love of sailing which he enjoyed throughout his life. Following his naval service, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree at UCLA in 1947 and then matriculated to Johns Hopkins Medical School where he graduated as a member of AOA in 1951. Dr. Hendrix completed house staff training on the Osler Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital; He was an internationally recognized clinician, a skilled clinical investigator and an excellent teacher. He taught not only medical students, but also house officers and postdoctoral fellows. It was my honor to have him as a teacher and, later, a colleague. Dr. A McGehee Harvey, the Department Chair of Medicine suggested to Tom Hendrix that he receive gastroenterology training in Boston and then return to Johns Hopkins and develop a formal Division of Gastroenterology. In Boston, he trained with Franz J. Ingelfinger and studied physiological effects of esophageal motility, gastroesophageal reflux and the effect of serotonin on the motility of the small intestine. Tom returned to Johns Hopkins in 1957 and as Assistant Professor, used the Boston University Program as a model for what he was to develop at Johns Hopkins. He led the Division at Johns Hopkins from 1957 until 1988. Among his many distinctions, he was a John and Mary R. Markle Scholar in Medical Science and in 1974 was the first incumbent of the Moses and Helen Paulson Professorship in Gastroenterology. Dr. Hendrix’s research involved structure-function studies of the GI tract, studying gastroesophageal reflux, and small bowel diseases. With his colleague, Dr. Ted Bayless, he formulated the idea that the intestine carried out both absorption and secretion simultaneously and that these functions were carried out in separate areas. The concept of oral rehydration therapy for cholera, which has saved millions of lives worldwide, was based upon the discovery that the intestine secreted excess fluid whose loss could be addressed by salt and sugar solutions taken by mouth. Other areas of interest included celiac disease and Whipple’s disease, as well as achalasia. He was
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one of the founders of the Hopkins Swallowing Center and the Hopkins IBD Center. Dr. Hendrix was a classic example of “triple threat medicine.” He was called “. . . a devoted and rigorous believer that GI Fellows needed to understand GI physiology in order to carry out the cognitive aspects of that specialty (1).” He began a series of review lectures on the major areas of GI physiology, to GI fellows in lectures which were called “cherished” continued long after his leadership of the division ended. The learned societies of which he was a member or leader included the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Clinical and Climatological Association, the Interurban Clinical Club, the American Gastroenterological Association (President, 1983–1984), the American Physiological Society, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He served on the NIH Committee of Enteric Infections and the Epidemiology and Disease Study Section, Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, and the Veterans Administration Merit Review Board. The US Army honored him with the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 1973. My wife and I had dinner with Tom at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Clinical and Climatological Association and he discussed his upcoming heart surgery; little did we know that it would be the last time he would participate in our Association’s annual meeting. By his colleagues, Tom was called compassionate, wise, supportive, and a fair but demanding teacher. In an obituary in the Baltimore Sun (2), Richard Ross, the former dean of Johns Hopkins Medical School stated “He came to Hopkins when I was a first-year assistant resident. He became my friend and my idol. . . He was a thorough doctor and was just great with his patients.” In the Memorial piece referenced below (1), the authors stated “We have lost our founding father and the GI field at large has lost one of his giants.” Dr. Hendrix was predeceased by his wife Sonia. He is survived by three sons and two daughters. Marc C. Hochberg, MD
REFERENCES 1. Donowitz M, Bayless T, Giardello F, Kalloo A, Pasricha PJ, Welch L: In memoriam: Thomas Russell Hendrix, MD, October 17, 1920 – December 23, 2013. Gastroenterology 2014;146:593– 4. 2. Kelly, J. Obituary, The Baltimore Sun, January 3, 2014.
MEMORIAL THOMAS RUSSELL HENDRIX, M.D. 1920 –2013
I first met Dr. Hendrix in September 1972 when he was the teaching attending physician on the Osler Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and I was a senior medical student. It was the first day of my 9-week Osler medicine clerkship and I had just finished presenting a case to Dr. Hendrix. His first question, which I have never forgotten, was “Do you think that alcoholism is a disease?” Tom was an outstanding clinician, researcher, and educator who led the Division of Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins for more than three decades. xcvi
MEMORIAL
xcvii
He was born in Fort Ancient, Ohio on October 17, 1920 and died of complications of heart surgery on December 23, 2013. He was raised on a farm in Tarzana, California and always considered California his home. He began his college education at the University of California in 1938, but he was called to active duty in 1941. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, took part in combat, and was a navigator and combat intelligence officer who began his service on Admiral Nimitz’s staff. As an officer on the USS Mitchell, he took part in every major naval battle in the Pacific. During his time in the Navy, he developed a love of sailing which he enjoyed throughout his life. Following his naval service, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree at UCLA in 1947 and then matriculated to Johns Hopkins Medical School where he graduated as a member of AOA in 1951. Dr. Hendrix completed house staff training on the Osler Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital; He was an internationally recognized clinician, a skilled clinical investigator and an excellent teacher. He taught not only medical students, but also house officers and postdoctoral fellows. It was my honor to have him as a teacher and, later, a colleague. Dr. A McGehee Harvey, the Department Chair of Medicine suggested to Tom Hendrix that he receive gastroenterology training in Boston and then return to Johns Hopkins and develop a formal Division of Gastroenterology. In Boston, he trained with Franz J. Ingelfinger and studied physiological effects of esophageal motility, gastroesophageal reflux and the effect of serotonin on the motility of the small intestine. Tom returned to Johns Hopkins in 1957 and as Assistant Professor, used the Boston University Program as a model for what he was to develop at Johns Hopkins. He led the Division at Johns Hopkins from 1957 until 1988. Among his many distinctions, he was a John and Mary R. Markle Scholar in Medical Science and in 1974 was the first incumbent of the Moses and Helen Paulson Professorship in Gastroenterology. Dr. Hendrix’s research involved structure-function studies of the GI tract, studying gastroesophageal reflux, and small bowel diseases. With his colleague, Dr. Ted Bayless, he formulated the idea that the intestine carried out both absorption and secretion simultaneously and that these functions were carried out in separate areas. The concept of oral rehydration therapy for cholera, which has saved millions of lives worldwide, was based upon the discovery that the intestine secreted excess fluid whose loss could be addressed by salt and sugar solutions taken by mouth. Other areas of interest included celiac disease and Whipple’s disease, as well as achalasia. He was
xcviii
MEMORIAL
one of the founders of the Hopkins Swallowing Center and the Hopkins IBD Center. Dr. Hendrix was a classic example of “triple threat medicine.” He was called “. . . a devoted and rigorous believer that GI Fellows needed to understand GI physiology in order to carry out the cognitive aspects of that specialty (1).” He began a series of review lectures on the major areas of GI physiology, to GI fellows in lectures which were called “cherished” continued long after his leadership of the division ended. The learned societies of which he was a member or leader included the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Clinical and Climatological Association, the Interurban Clinical Club, the American Gastroenterological Association (President, 1983–1984), the American Physiological Society, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He served on the NIH Committee of Enteric Infections and the Epidemiology and Disease Study Section, Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, and the Veterans Administration Merit Review Board. The US Army honored him with the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 1973. My wife and I had dinner with Tom at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Clinical and Climatological Association and he discussed his upcoming heart surgery; little did we know that it would be the last time he would participate in our Association’s annual meeting. By his colleagues, Tom was called compassionate, wise, supportive, and a fair but demanding teacher. In an obituary in the Baltimore Sun (2), Richard Ross, the former dean of Johns Hopkins Medical School stated “He came to Hopkins when I was a first-year assistant resident. He became my friend and my idol. . . He was a thorough doctor and was just great with his patients.” In the Memorial piece referenced below (1), the authors stated “We have lost our founding father and the GI field at large has lost one of his giants.” Dr. Hendrix was predeceased by his wife Sonia. He is survived by three sons and two daughters. Marc C. Hochberg, MD
REFERENCES 1. Donowitz M, Bayless T, Giardello F, Kalloo A, Pasricha PJ, Welch L: In memoriam: Thomas Russell Hendrix, MD, October 17, 1920 – December 23, 2013. Gastroenterology 2014;146:593– 4. 2. Kelly, J. Obituary, The Baltimore Sun, January 3, 2014.
