‘Medical giants’ showcased in museum's inaugural exhibit

Published on Tuesday, January 21, 2025

By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu

Photos By: Joe Ellis/ UMMC Communications

In matters of the heart, and other vital organs, Dr. Arthur C. Guyton and Dr. James D. Hardy stand alone.

As a researcher and physiologist, Guyton redefined the workings of the cardiovascular system; as a surgeon, Hardy and his team performed the first heart transplant into a human.

While the two men worked apart from each other, each made his mark at the same place: the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where they contributed many other advances and discoveries to medical science.

It’s only fitting, then, that textbooks, photos, letters and other memorabilia from their lives and careers shape the inaugural exhibit of the Museum of Medical History during its Open House on Thursday, starting at 10 a.m. in UMMC’s Rowland Medical Library.

“Many people on this campus already know about some of the innovations these medical giants made at UMMC,” said Lida Key, director of the museum, “so, with this exhibit, we also hope to offer them a dimension that many may not have seen or read about.”

It is a dimension unlocked by some rarely-seen artifacts from Hardy’s and Guyton’s respective collections. Those include dog tags from Hardy’s service in the U.S. Army, a postcard he sent to his “crew” from one of his foreign travels in 1983, and a letter he wrote to his mother in 1943 announcing “the greatest honor that I’ve ever received. Your son James has been chosen as one of the two medical residents at the Hospital of the University of [Pennsylvania] … .”

As for Guyton, there is a Reader’s Digest issue with a photo of the Guyton family for the cover story: “A Doctor Who’s Dad to Seven Doctors – So Far!” [three more children, and physicians, would follow]; a photo of his wife, Ruth Weigle, in her bridal gown; and a 1986 letter of commendation from President Ronald Reagan.

There are also specimens of one of his greatest achievements, the famed Textbook of Medical Physiology, which, in later editions, was authored in part by renowned physiologist Dr. John E. Hall, who was Guyton’s colleague and is today the Arthur C. Guyton Professor and Chair of Physiology and Biophysics at UMMC.

“If we were to compile a list of the most compelling and inspiring people in the history of Mississippi medicine, Dr. Arthur Guyton and Dr. James Hardy would surely be at the top of the list,” said Hall, who has worked on later versions of the textbook with his son, Dr. Michael Hall, professor and chair of medicine.

“They were both giants in the worlds of physiology and medicine and they changed, in a very positive way, the world’s view of Mississippi medicine. These exhibits will provide an important opportunity for people to learn more about their legacies.”

Hardy’s legacy includes his pioneering human lung transplant in 1963, performed just seven months before the January 1964 heart transplant.

In Guyton’s case, his dream of a career as a cardiovascular surgeon succumbed to residual paralysis due to polio. He took aim at physiology instead, and his findings included the revolutionary discovery that the kidneys act as the long-term regulator of arterial blood pressure.

The museum exhibit on Guyton complements a permanent display in UMMC’s Guyton Research Complex; it also offers a glimpse into the mind of a man who designed the first motorized wheelchair.

His death, at age 83, in April 2003, followed by less than two months the death of Hardy, at age 84.

Besides the exhibits, the open house will feature a discussion about ideas for future displays, a recap of what has been accomplished so far and an opportunity to invite Medical Center denizens to become “more engaged with the fascinating history of this institution,” Key said.

“We are also urging the various heads of schools and departments to keep an eye open for possible artifacts, to be aware that the museum is searching for more and ask us to come take a look.”

In the future, not only will the museum cover the Medical Center’s “milestone events” and accomplishments, it will also “describe the challenges we faced along the way,” said Dr. Scott Rodgers, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“I look forward to our open house, an event which will serve as an official unveiling of our concept and give people a sense of what we have achieved thus far, and what we hope to achieve in the future.

“The Museum of Medical History will preserve and tell the many stories of those who have come before us. It is my sincere hope that it becomes a source of pride for the entire UMMC community.”

Some of those stories will be told during the open house through historical footage displayed on the multi-media screen in the foyer outside the library.

A major chronicler of the Medical Center’s story is Janis Quinn, former long-time public affairs specialist at UMMC, who will be on hand to autograph her definitive history of the institution’s first 50 years, “Promises Kept.”

The museum also tells stories through “The History Happened Here Walking Tour,” an expansion of the sightseeing circuit begun a decade ago by Dr. Ralph Didlake, director of the UMMC Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities.

Among the stops is the operating room where Hardy performed the first heart transplant. “There are 20 sites on the tour right now, and there are plans to add more,” Didlake said.

“That will include Dr. Guyton’s workshop and the office he occupied after he retired. Some of the sites are without signs and we’re working to put those up. Each one will describe where the viewer is standing and it will have a QR code they can access to find more in-depth information.”

In the meantime, the museum is pursuing grants and donations to fund more projects that will, as Hall put it, “highlight the stories of many others who have been so important to the rich history of Mississippi medicine.” 

The Rowland Medical Library is located on the second level of the Learning Resource Center. For more information about the museum, email Museum@umc.edu. To schedule a docent for “The History Happened Here Walking Tour,” email Lida Key, lbgibson@umc.edu.