07/10/2023
"Neurosurgery is an arrogant occupation. Astronomers study the stars but never touch them. Particle physicists see God in the v***r trails of their great atom-smashers, but cannot see the particle themselves, cannot reach into protons and feel the quarks with their fingers. Molecular biologists sing the praises of the double helix, but the gene is forever an abstraction, invisible to the naked eye. These scientists must be content with the shadow nature casts upon their instruments and photographic emulsions. But not the neurosurgeon, for whom the greatest mystery of creation resides in a few pounds of greasy flesh and blood. Only the neurosurgeon dares to improve upon five billion years of evolution in a few hours.
"Some mornings I awaken and wonder how I ended up a neurosurgeon. One day I was a poor college student rummaging under my sofa cushions for a few quarters to buy french fries; the next thing I knew I was wrist-deep in someone's skull. What happened in between remains a blur."
- Frank Vertosick Jr. MD "When The Air Hits Your Brain," Introduction c.1996
