The International Skeletal Society: How It Began
Introduction
Three radiologists with a special interest in skeletal radiology (one from Great Britain and two from the United States) laid the groundwork for the inception and development of the International Skeletal Society and its official journal – Skeletal Radiology. The concept of such a Society was introduced first in an idle moment of conversation in 1970 between the British radiologist and one of the two American radiologists – a conversation in which the British radiologist queried “would it not be a great idea to have a society of international scope dedicated to the concept of studies in depth of disorders of the skeleton?” The American radiologist attended a meeting of the Fleischner Society (dedicated to the study of diseases in the chest) sometime later in Montreal. He came away imbued with the idea that a similar Society in bone could be established. The American radiologist, upon his return to New York after the Fleischner meeting in Montreal, decided that in order for such a venture to be successful it required the skill, talents and sagacity of the radiologist in Great Britain who had introduced the concept and another radiologist in the United States whose reputation and organisation skills were such that no skeletal society could really be founded without his being an intimate part of the beginnings. And so, Ronald Murray from Great Britain, Jack Edeiken from Philadelphia and Harold Jacobson from New York, working with Mrs Rosalyn Levine as the secretary of the group, agreed by phone to move ahead.
Formation of the ISS
A letter was sent by Mrs Rosalyn Levine early in 1972 to Dr Leo G Rigler which stated “As you undoubtedly know, Drs Jacobson, Edeiken and Murray and several other radiologists with a major interest in skeletal radiology are interested in forming an International Skeletal Society which would function somewhat like the Fleischner Society which is dedicated to the dissemination of information related to the chest. The meeting which Dr Jacobson attended in Montreal in May of 1972 impressed him so much that the idea of forming a Skeletal Society became intriguing. In order to establish the groundwork for such a society, I wonder if it would be possible for you to send me a copy of the by-laws of the Fleischner Society, its charter (if any) and any other pertinent information which might serve as guides for us.”
A letter written simultaneously by Dr Sidney W Nelson who was the Professor and Chairman, Department of Radiology, Ohio State University Medical Centre in Colombus, Ohio on June 22 1972 to Mr William C Stronach, the Executive Director of the American College of Radiology, which stated “We are in the process of forming a society devoted to the study of skeletal diseases and would like to hold the organisational meeting at the time of the ARRS meeting in Washington, DC this fall.We would like to ask your help in obtaining the use of a room that will hold about 40 people. We would like to have it from 4:30pm-6pm on Wednesday, October 4th”. The first meeting concerning the proposed International Skeletal Society was held at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the American Roentgen Ray Society Meeting on 4 October 1972 from 4:30-6pm. Present were Drs Jack Bowerman of Baltimore, Maryland, Murray Dalinka of Philadelphia, Pa., Jack Edeiken of Philadelphia, Pa., Freida Feldman of New York, Richard Gold of San Francisco, George B Greenfield of Chicago, Ill., Philip Hodes of Miami, Fla., Harold G Jacobson of the Bronx, New York, Herbert J Kaufmann of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Kirkpatrick , then of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gwilym Lodwick of Columbia, Missouri, Ronald O Murray of London England, Sidney W Nelson of Columbus, Ohio, Maurice Reeder of Washington, DC., Stanley Siegelman of the Bronx, New York, Thomas W Staple of St Louis, Missouri and Elias G Theros of Bethesda, Maryland – a total of 17 in all. The meeting was held to discuss the possible formation of an organisation devoted to the discipline of skeletal radiology. Preliminary inquiries had been made in letters from Drs Harold G Jacobson and Jack Edeiken that were addressed to a number of physicians in the United States known to have made significant contributions to the field of skeletal disorders. At the same time similar inquiries were undertaken in Europe by Dr Ronald O Murray of London.
Following a short preliminary discussion, the desirability of forming such a society was unanimously agreed upon by those present. Dr Jacobson was then invited to take the chair. The following tentative decisions were made:
- Name. The provisional name of the “International Skeletal Society” was agreed upon.
- Object. It was decided that the objective of the Society was the advancement of the science and art of radiology of the skeleton with cooperation from and participation by associated disciplines.
- Membership. Whereas the initial intention had been to confine the membership to between 50 and 100, it was pointed out that many more might want to join. It was decided by unanimous vote that two classes of membership should be established.
- Fellows – to be individuals of considerable seniority, who contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in this speciality?
- Members – to be similar individuals of junior status, but already with established staff or consultant positions and reasonable bibliography. The possibility of creating another junior group of Associate Members was considered and left open until it was established whether or not such a demand existed.
- Types of Member. The organisation is to be basically radiological, but other disciplines of similar interest were to include orthopaedic surgeons, skeletal pathologists, and paediatric physicians with special interest in bone disease, metabolic physicians and rheumatologists. An epidemiologist would be an asset.
- Meetings.
- An Annual Meeting for one or two days should take place for intimate discussion between members only on problems of diagnosis (unusual and difficult cases).
- The Annual Meeting could be followed by a 3-day Instructional Course which would be open for registrants. The belief was expressed that such a course would attract a large number of registrants in the USA (and abroad) paying a fee to be established. (The Fleischner Society attracted almost 600 registrants at its previous meeting). Should similar success be achieved by this new society, it could be possible to finance meetings in other parts of the world with travel expenses for participating members.
A Steering Committee was then elected to draw up by-laws and consider the details of administration of such a Society. The Steering Committee consisted of Dr Harold G Jacobson as Acting Chairman, Dr Jack Edeiken, Dr Ronald O Murray as the European Representative, Dr Elias G Theros of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, Dr Herbert Kaufmann of the Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa and Dr Gwilym Lodwick of the Columbia University Medical Centre in Missouri. This Steering Committee was to meet in Chicago in November and to present to this meeting at the RSNA a proposed constitution and rules of the new Society. Authority was given to the Steering Committee for the selection of founding Fellows and Members. The minutes of this Inaugural Meeting held on October 4th 1972 were taken by Dr Murray and submitted to Mrs Levine who then in turn submitted the minutes to Dr Jacobson.
On 13th October 1972 Dr Murray wrote to Dr Jacobson a letter in which he stated “I have written to many people about the International Skeletal Society and I will be in touch with you as soon as I get replies from them. Meanwhile, I enclose a copy of the Constitution of the British Orthopaedic Association which I think might be of considerable value to you in drawing up a similar constitution for a new society.” Drs Edeiken had also written to DrJacobson outlining a letter seeking Founding American members of the new Society. This letter in the first paragraph deals with the issue of the importance of forming a Society that will concern itself with disorders of the skeleton and would be “international in scope, would have a strong radiological thrust in its dedication to the dissemination and exchange of information and to a consideration of the advances in this field and would obviously include in its membership authorities in skeletal pathology, physiology, clinical orthopaedics etc.” The letter goes on to say “a good case in point, which might well serve as a model is the Fleischner Society which was started only about two years ago and is already a huge success. The Fleischner Society, with an International membership limited to a total of sixty, meets in a different city each year, holding its business and scientific meetings on a weekend, followed by a three day postgraduate course in Diseases of the Chest.
In line with the concept of a limited and select membership, we have drawn up a tentative list of individuals who are either outstanding leaders in the field of skeletal disorders and/or majorly interested in the field. You, of course, are one of these individuals and we ardently hope that you will join us in this new endeavour.
The Steering Committee of this Society has decided to hold the first (formal) meeting of this International Skeletal Society at the Washington Hilton Hotel from March 23rd to the 27th, 1974 at which time a regular Society meeting would be held to be followed by a 3-day postgraduate course in skeletal diseases. The Society dues for the first year have been set at $75.00.
“We believe that you will lend much toward the growth and future development of this Society and we hope that you will indicate your interest and acceptance of a role in this new Society by returning the enclosed form to either Dr Edeiken or me as soon as possible.” The letter was signed by Jack Edeiken who had been elected Secretary-Elect by the Steering Committee and Harold G Jacobson who had been elected as President-Elect by the Steering Committee. Below are the names of the physicians contacted and offered Founding Membership in the new Society:
UNITED STATES
- Ernest Aegerter, MD
- Theodore E Keats, MD
- James B Arey, MD
- John Kirkpatrick, MD
- John W Beabout, MD
- Walter M Levy, MD
- John Caffey, MD
- Louis Lichtenstein, MD
- David Dahlin, MD
- Gwilyn Lodwick, MD
- Murray Dalinka, MD
- William Martel, MD
- Anthony E DePalma, MD
- Wallace T Miller, MD
- Howard Dorfman, MD
- Victor A McKusick, MD
- Jack Edeiken, MD
- Sidney W Nelson, MD
- Frieda Feldman, MD
- Alex Norman, MD
- Barnett Finkelstein, MD
- David Pugh, MD
- Robert Freiberger, MD
- Stanley Siegelman, MD
- Richard H Gold, MD
- Robert Siffert, MD
- Irving M Greenberg, MD
- Harlan J Spjut, MD
- George B Greenfield, MD
- Thomas W Staple, MD
- Philip Hodes, MD
- Howard L Steinbach, MD
- John C Ivins, MD
- Elias G Theros, MD
- Harold G Jacobson, MD
- Joseph P Whalen, MD
- Henry L Jaffe, MD
- Philip Wilson, MD
- Lent C Johnson, MD
- George T Wohl, MD
- Herbert Kaufmann, MD
GREAT BRITAIN
- Edward H Allen, MD
- Ronald O Murray, MD
- Philip Jacobs, MD
- Hubert Sissons, MD
Of this entire group initially invited (numbering 45), only four did not reply (Dr Pugh, because of illness, was unable to join). Dr Murray, representing the European contingent of the new Society, then suggested a list of European members (in addition to the 4 listed) whom he considered suitable and eligible for membership in the International Skeletal Society. The radiologists he listed were J T Patton, D J Stoker, W M Park, J K Davidson, F H Doyle, E J Roebuck and C K Warrick. Dr Murray wrote to these individuals numbering 7 and all accepted. He also suggested for membership the following in pathology – Dr J Ball; in Medicine – Professor C E Dent; in Rheumatology – Dr D A Brewerton; and the following orthopaedic clinicians – Professor Burrows, Drs Newman, Yeoman and Professor Fairbank. A letter written by Dr Murray to Dr Jacobson on 17 August 1972 states “Jocelyn McDonald has prepared the enclosed list of possible members of the International Skeletal Society made from our mutual discussion. I rather doubt whether all these radiologists would in fact qualify if a condition of membership is to be that of at least 50% of their time is to be spent in orthopaedic radiology. I think this condition is in fact essential.
Representation from other disciplines should, in my opinion, only be made by special invitation. In regards to European (non British) radiologists, the only ones I can think of personally to recommend are Norgaard from Denmark, Professor von Ronnen from Leiden, Holland, Olaf Norman from Lund, Sweden and possibly Victor Segelstadt from Oslo, Norway. All of these people to my knowledge are fluent in English. You will recall that I suggested the names to you of Richard Schreiber at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles and John Moseley at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Letters of acceptance were received from:
Herbert Kaufmann(R)USA: John Kirkpatrick(R)USA: Dennis Stoker(R)UK: C K Warrick(R)UK: John Sutcliffe,(R)UK: C H G Price(P)UK E J Roebuck(R)UK: Reginald Nassim, William M Park(R)UK: Philip Yeoman,(Orth)UK: Richard H Gold(R)USA: George B Greenfield(R)USA: Howard Steinbach(R)USA: Elias G Theros(R)USA: George Wohl (R)USA; Robert Siffert, Alex Norman(R)USA: Sidney Nelson,(R)USA: Joseph Whalen(R)USA: Tom W Staple(R)USA: Gwilym Lodwick(R)USA: Louis Lichtenstein(P)USA: Walter M Levy,(P)USA: Theodore E Keats(R)USA: John C Ivins(R)USA:Philip Hodes(R)USA: J R von Ronnen(R) Netherlands: M Reeder(R)USA Frederic N Silverman(R)USA: E B D Neuhauser(R)USA: J H Middlemiss(R)UK: Henry L Jaffe (P)USA: Philip Jacobs(R)UK: Murray Dalinka(R)USA: Lent Johnson(Orth)USA: T J Fairbank(Orth))UK: John K Davidson(R)UK: Olof Norman (R)Sweden: Hubert Sissons(P)UK: Wallace T Miller, William Martel(R)USA: Stanley Bohrer(R)Nigeria: Terry Patton(R)UK: Akbar Bonakdarpour(R)USA: Corinne Farrell(R)USA: J Leland Sosman(R)USA:John P Dorst(R)USA: Richard R Schreiber(R)USA: C J Karibo(R)USA: F H W Heuck( R)Germany: Peter G Bullough(P)USA: Daniel Wilner,(R)USA;David Dahlin(P)USA: Bryan Preston(R)UK: Malcolm Chapman(R)UK: John L Gwinn( R)USA: W J Weston,( R)NewZealand: C E Dent.(Rheum)UK;Professor Kosinskaya USSR: Morris Kricun(R)USA:
In their letters of acceptance, a number of individuals proposed ideas and concepts for the new organisation. Of interest is a note from Dr Ivins in accepting membership in which he wrote to Dr Jacobson:
“Your friend and my colleague, Dave Dahlin, said you certainly would not be offended by a comment or two. My practice is very largely limited to orthopaedic oncology, including lesions of soft tissues, in bone and of the skin. It is very hard to justify the formation of yet another medical organisation, but I can see where this would be a very valuable group if it was indeed limited and select in its membership and, perhaps, international in scope.”
The eminent Dr E B D Neuhauser in his note of acceptance also stated “Is it too late to alter the name? I doubt it is correct English usage.”
Also of great interest is that Dr Henry L Jaffe inserted 2 check marks opposite the question of whether he was interested in the formation of a Society and wanted to be included in the charter group (two checks instead of one for greater emphasis). Also included is a letter from Mrs Clarisse Jaffee who stated:
“Your letter of July 19th arrived and greatly pleased Dr Jaffe. He warmly agrees with you that a Society such as the contemplated one dealing with skeletal disorders has long been overdue in formation. It constitutes an essential area of study with its ramifications of pathology, radiology, physiology and clinical orthopaedics. Dr Jaffe is willing to enter into such a Society and give whatever good may accrue from the use of his name towards the goals you have envisaged. However, it must be understood that he cannot do any work or assume responsibility for the work that must necessarily accompany the effort for organisation and projection of ideas until he is completely recovered from his illness. Then he may use his energies toward the achievement of the Society’s objectives.”
Dr Dahlin wrote, “I am honoured to be asked and shall plan to join.”
The Steering Committee met again on November 8th 1972 at the office of Dr Harold Jacobson in the Bronx. Present were Drs Jack Edeiken, Herbert Kaufmann, Maurice Reeder, Elias Theros and Harold G Jacobson, Gwilyn Lodwick could not attend and he was contacted by telephone for consultation during the meeting.
A decision was made to have a set of By-laws and Constitution for the proposed International Skeletal Society prepared for presentation at the next meeting of the Steering Committee to be held in Chicago on November 28 1972 at the time of the RSNA meeting. Dr Edeiken agreed to undertake this task.
The matter of categorisation of members was raised and was decided that those of considerable prestige who either because of age or limited activity would not be able to participate actively but who would like to be part of the Society would be named as follows:
- Distinguished Fellows
- Fellows Those who have written at least 5 significant publications, a significant monograph, or those who have made outstanding contribution to trainees in Radiology (or allied fields) on a national and/or international level
- Honorary Fellows Those who satisfy the above criteria, but who have reached the age of 68.
- Members Those of junior status who are already of established staff or consultant position and who show great promise in the field of skeletal radiology
It was decided that each member must spend a significant part of his/her professional day devoted to skeletal radiology, pathology, physiology etc.
Dr Luther Brady of Philadelphia was added to the original list, having been inadvertently omitted. He accepted membership.
The designation of status of membership was evaluated by the Steering Committee. It was the opinion of the Steering Committee in that meeting that membership in the Society should be kept to a limit of 80 members or Fellows during the first year, with the possibility of membership being increased to 100 the second year.
It was agreed unanimously that the Steering Committee should act as the Nominating Committee for the first slate of officers to be presented to the next regular membership committee.
The matter of the type of the first Refresher Course was considered. The date, April, 1974, was tentatively agreed upon as the time for the first course. Drs Edeiken, Theros and Reeder agreed to investigate an appropriate site for this first course and it was agreed that there would be a one and a half or two day weekend Closed Meeting to be followed by a three day postgraduate course on Skeletal Radiology.
The next meeting of the Steering Committee was held on Tuesday November 28, 1972 at 5:30pm, at the Palmer House in Chicago during the time of the RSNA Meeting in the ACR College Suite. Present were Drs Edeiken, Kaufmann, Lodwick, Reeder, Theros and Jacobson. Dr Murray could not attend. The time and place for the first formal meeting and refresher course still were being considered. It was unanimously agreed that is should be sometime in 1974. No definite decision was reached as to the exact date and place.
The issue of category of memberships again was discussed.
A proposal was made to limit initially membership to no more than 80 to 100 active members or Fellows. Drs Edeiken and Lodwick were selected as a Committee to review the current membership roster as to status. It was decided that the initial dues for all members be set at $50.00 for the first year, with the proviso that the amount would be changed thereafter, if it was found necessary to do so.
It was decided that there be no age limit for regular members and it was also decided that only one class of membership would exist.
The next meeting of the Steering Committee took place on February 15, 1973 in Dr Edeiken’s office in Philadelphia. Present were Drs Edeiken, Kirkpatrick, Dalinka, Reeder, Kaufmann, Jacobson and an attorney selected by Dr Edeiken for help in incorporating the Society – Mr Herbert R Weiman. Absent were Drs Theros, Murray and Lodwick.
The current membership roster was reviewed. It was noted that the membership to date included 55 Active Members and 5 Honorary Fellows. It was decided that the latter category was not to be included in the final count of members and would not affect the number of people who could be added to the current membership listing.
Dr Edeiken had prepared the By-laws of the Society and Mr Weiman reported that these were essentially accurate and in good form, but that minor additions and/or corrections would have to be included. It was indicated that a “main office” would have to be established in the State of Pennsylvania, but subsidiary offices could be set up in any other State. When review of the By-laws was completed by Mr Weiman, they would be submitted for ratification to the membership.
The issue of the number of members to be permitted then was discussed. Dr Kaufmann believed that membership should be limited to no more than 100. Dr Edeiken suggested that the idea of limited membership be deleted and that an “Authors’ Club” composed of select individuals within the Society, be formed and that this “Authors’ Club” would meet at the time of the ISS meeting. The basic requirements for membership in this intra-society group would be that these individuals must have authored or co-authored a minimum of 12 articles or a text dealing with skeletal diseases. It was suggested that Mr Weiman include this provision in the By-laws.
It was also the consensus of the group that anyone not attending a meeting of the Society at least once every two years would be dropped, but this prerequisite would be waived for those individuals who reside in the country other than the one in which the meeting was being held.
Dr Edeiken had been named to head the Program Committee for the first meeting; he recommended that the First Postgraduate Program be held from March 23rd to March 27th, 1974 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. The general format of the meeting and the Refresher Course was submitted by Dr Edeiken.
The issue of dues again was discussed and it was decided unanimously that the annual dues for all members for the first year be $75.00 subject to change and that all members would be allowed to attend the Postgraduate Course free of charge. The fee of $160.00 for physicians and $80.00 for resident physicians was set as the fee for attendance at the first Refresher Course; it was decided that this sum would include three lunches and one cocktail party. The Steering Committee agreed to assume the transportation fare for Dr Ronald Murray for his attendance at the forthcoming meeting.
Additional recommendations for membership were approved. These included W Paul Butt (R) Canada: Rolf Noer USA: Professor E A Uehlinger (P) Switzerland: Mary Fisher USA Robert Wilkinson (R) USA: Robert Rosen (O) USA: Richard Rosen (R)USA; Stanley Craig(P)USA: Henry Pendergrass (R) USA: Professor Hanno Poppe Germany: Theodore Van Rijssel (P)Netherlands: R G Van der Heul,(P)Netherlands Philip Wood (R)UK Jacob Jerushalmay USA: Sven-Olaf Ahlbock Sweden: Michael Pitt (R) USA: Martin Gelman (R) USA:, Wan Kulik USA: Jack W Snarr Canada: Leonard Langer (R)USA: Professor Jurgen Spranger (Phys)Germany, Andrew Poznanski (R)USA: John Holt (R)USA: Hooshang Taybi (R)USA: Peter Cockshott (R)Canada: W P Pattinson (R) UK: Robert Gorlin(P)USA: Jack Reynolds (R) USA:, Robert Sherman USA:Philip Palmer (R)USA: Robert Ormond (R)USA:Harold Frost USA: Robert Allman (R) USA: Richard Cavanagh (R)USA:Colonel LeRoy Thompson (R)USA: George Simon (R)UK. Most of the individuals named accepted membership in the Society.
In addition to those Founding members already listed by Dr Jacobsen the following had accepted the invitation to Foundation Membership at this time:-
Lauren Ackerman(P)USA: Colin Alexander (R)NZ; Melvin Becker (R)USA; Germain Beauregarde R)Canada; A DePalma(R)USA: M Freedman( R) USA: Harry Genant(R)USA: William Mezaros (R)USA: Sven Scheller Sweden; Gadson Tarleton (R)USA E Voegli (R)Switzerland; Aaron Weinstein (R)USA;
The next meeting of the Steering Committee was held in the office of Dr Edeiken at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia on May 25, 1973. Present were Drs Reeder, Edeiken, Kaufmann and Jacobson.
Dr Reeder gave his report on the arrangements for the first meeting and the Refresher Course to be held on March 23rd 1974 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC.
Dr Edeiken informed the Steering Committee that the Refresher Course had received approval under Category 1 of the American Medical Association. Detailed recommendations for the Closed Meeting, the Refresher Course and the social activities were presented and accepted. The format for the Scientific Program was considered. The cost also was stated.
A phone call arrived from Mr Weiman, the attorney for the ISS, informing the Committee that the International Skeletal Society now was incorporated officially under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania. The registration fee to be charged for the first course was set at $200.00 and $100.00 for residents, with the charge including lunches.
Dr Jacobson recommended that all proceedings be recorded and sent to the membership. Dr Edeiken believed that a “Proceeding Journal” should be published recording the scientific sessions of the Closed Meetings and put on the open market for sale. Williams and Wilkins and perhaps W B Saunders were to be approached regarding price etc according to Dr Edeiken. At this meeting plans for the second meeting of the ISS to be held in London in 1975 with a tentative date of June 17th to the 21st were discussed.
Another Steering Committee meeting was held in Montreal during the American Roentgen Bay Society meeting in September, 1973. The major topic of discussion was the annual meeting to be held in March 1974 in Washington DC. Present at this meeting were Drs Theros, Kaufmann, Reeder, Edeiken and Jacobson.
It was decided by the Steering Committee that most of the Scientific (closed) Meeting would consist of showing interesting cases. It was suggested that each member should bring a minimum of three cases but it was urged strongly that at least seven cases be prepared by each member. The cases should be well prepared with good original films and good photographs as well as microscopic slides when possible. It was decided that the cases would be worked up into some sort of an annual “Proceedings Journal”, since they would make a fine collection. The editors would be Drs Edeiken, Murray and Jacobson, together with a large Editorial Board.
Considerable discussion took place about the meeting to be held in London in April, 1975. Dr Ronald Murray would be in charge of the proceedings at the meeting.
The By-Laws of the Society were received. They had been reviewed by the lawyer and they were now part of the incorporated organisation. A vote for approval of these By-Laws was to be taken at the annual meeting. It was reiterated that the officers recommended by the Steering Committee for the first meeting would be: President – Dr Jacobson; President-Elect – Dr Murray; Secretary-Treasurer – Dr Edeiken. Nominations would be accepted from the floor. It was decided that members of the faculty of the Refresher Course did not have to pay the $50.00 tuition.
The next meeting of the Steering Committee was held on November 29th, 1973 in Chicago. Attending were Drs Edeiken, Theros, Reeder, Lodwick, Kaufmann and Jacobson. The Steering Committee approved in principle that a Journal be published six times a year and that this Journal would include the cases presented at the Annual Meetings of the ISS, in addition to articles on skeletal radiology and allied disciplines.
Dr Edeiken recommended the admission of additional physicians who were outstanding in the field of skeletal disorders and maintained that the limitation of 100 members placed too great a restraint on the Society. In response the Steering Committee agreed that 125 members should be the new figure.
The Steering Committee agreed that the President-Elect should serve for two years, so that in the future, the terms of the President and President-Elect would be two years. Because in the first year of the founding of the Society, Dr Jacobson had been the Founding President, it was decided that there would be Co-Presidents – an American and European President – Dr Jacobson from the United States and Dr Murray from London for the second year.
It was decided to request $2000 from each of about six important x-ray companies in the United States, including General Electric, Dupont, Phillips, etc.
It was decided that Dr Jacobson act as a Scribe for the Scientific sessions (Closed Meetings) of the ISS at their annual meetings. Consideration was also given to the publication of the proceedings by Williams and Wilkins and Saunders, both of whom were contacted and indicated interest. Drs Edeiken and Jacobson were selected to meet with each of these companies.
It was decided that Dr Murray would be asked to write an editorial on the founding of the Society in one of the British Journals. The first Newsletter was addressed and mailed by Dr Edeiken in the middle of June, 1973. In this newsletter Dr Edeiken reported the following:
- He listed the members of the Steering Committee and the officers elected.
- He informed the Founding Members that the Constitution and By-Laws were approved and that the Society has been incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania.
- He discussed the purpose of the Society and informed the Founding Members that only one class of membership would prevail, but that an “Author’s Club” would be formed in the Society, the purpose of the “Author’s Club” being related to the encouragement of the members of the Society to contribute to the literature and not to establish exclusivity.
- Dr Edeiken indicated that the membership of the ISS would be by invitation only and would be limited to a total of 100 active members, Honorary Fellows or Scientists who had made outstanding contributions to skeletal radiology and related disciplines and who did not desire to be active. Inactive members would be designated from the active membership and would be those who had voluntarily retired from active practice or decreased their interest in skeletal radiology and had decided voluntarily to become inactive in the Society.
- Drs Reeder and Theros acted as the Ad Hoc Committee for establishing the first meeting of the Society in the Spring of 1974.
- The operating rules for the Scientific Program (Closed Meeting) were listed.
- The matter of social activities were addressed and Dr Edeiken informed the Founding Members that a theatre-dinner party was planned for Saturday March 23, 1974.
- It was decided that the dues for the first year would be $75.00.
- Dr Edeiken would act as Program Director for the Refresher Course with members being charged $50.00 for this course and regular registrants $200.00 with a $100.00 fee for residents. The fee would include three lunches, coffee breaks and receptions.
A letter was sent to members of the “Author’s Club” which was scheduled to meet on Friday, March 22, 1974, just before the regular meeting of the Society. It was planned at this meeting to show cases in which the diagnosis was in question or the case was extremely interesting, with the proposed presentations having interest for the entire Skeletal Society.
It was the decision of the Steering Committee that each member of the “Author’s Club” would bring a minimum of three well prepared cases.
On July 25, 1973, letters were sent to a select group of individuals inviting them to be members of the “Author’s Club” of the International Skeletal Society. This club was being formed “to gather together those individuals who are outstanding in the field of skeletal radiology and also to stimulate the younger membership to fulfil the pre-requisites of joining, which were authorship or co-authorship of a book or 12 articles on skeletal radiology. The first meeting was scheduled for 22 March 1974, just preceding the regular meeting of the ISS. At least one eminent bone pathologist (it is hoped many more) would review the slides brought by the members of the “Author’s Club” as necessary. The meeting was to last three hours.
Simultaneously, announcements went out concerning the first Annual Refresher Course of the ISS to be given March 25th through the 27th, 1974 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. The faculty consisted of Drs Caffey, Cavanaugh, Dalinka, Edeiken, Feldman, Freiberger, Greenfield, Holt, Jacobson, Kaufmann, Kirkpatrick, Lodwick, Murray, Nelson, Neuhauser, Norman, Reeder, Silverman, Steinbach, Theros and Wilkinson.
A list of members of the “Author’s Club” was prepared; forty-one members were included. The names selected for the “Author’s Club” will not be listed because this organisation was ultimately disbanded. The number of articles necessary was raised to 14. Atlases were excluded, as were Case Reports.
A letter was sent to the members of the “Author’s Club” from Drs Edeiken and Jacobson after the meeting in which those individuals who attended were thanked for “making the inaugural session so highly exciting and gratifying to all of us who were part of the Society.” This letter went on to state that considerable criticism had been raised and recommendations had been made that the “Author’s Club” be abolished, since it appeared to be redundant and unnecessarily provocative to the rest of the membership of the ISS. The letter indicated that “we are therefore canvassing the members of the ‘Author’s Club’ as to their attitudes regarding the desirability of retaining this small group within the International Skeletal Society.” At the same time, Drs Edeiken and Jacobson indicated that “for whatever it is worth, both of the undersigned believe that the “Author’s Club” should be dissolved forthwith.” The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of abolishing the “Author’s Club” and indeed it was abolished.
A second newsletter was prepared by Dr Edeiken and circulated in October 1973 in which the decisions of the Steering Committee at its meeting in Montreal were included.
The issue of publishing a Journal as an official organ of the International Skeletal Society now received maximum attention at the beginning of November 1973.
A Board of Editorial Consultants was now named. These included Drs Pendergrass, Brady, Aegerter, Ackerman, Alexander, Cockshott, Dahlin, Dorfman, Fairbank, Freiberger, Gorlin, Gwinn, Hodes, Holt, Ivins, Jacobs, Johnson, Kaufmann, Keats, Kirkpatrick, Lodwick, Mankin, Martel, Meszaros, Middlemiss, Neuhauser, Olaf Norman, Poznanski, Reeder, Silverman, Sissons, Spjut, Spranger, Steinbach, Theros, Whalen, Wood and Heuck. It was decided officially to select Springer Verlag Inc as the publisher of the Journal. It was also decided officially that Drs Edeiken and Murray would be the Co-Chief Editors for the Manuscript Section of the Journal and Dr Jacobson the Chief Editor for the Case Report Section. The Journal would be approximately 56 pages at the beginning. The suggested date of first publication was 1 July 1975. Continued discussions between Springer Verlag, particularly, with its President, Dr Heinz Gotze, were held. Dr Edeiken did most of the negotiating concerning the business aspects of the Journal with Dr Gotze, The original correspondence between .After considerable discussion, a number of meetings and much correspondence (available in our files), Volume 1, Number 1, of the New Journal designated as SKELETAL RADIOLOGY – the Journal of the International Skeletal Society – was advertised to appear in 1976 and indeed, the first number, Volume 1 and Number 1 did appear early in 1976. The Editors-In-Chief were Drs Edeiken, Jacobson and Murray and the Consulting Editors were those individuals named above.
A Publisher’s letter appeared as an Editorial. The articles in the first issue were by Voegeli and Uehlinger on Arteriography in Bone Tumours, Myeloma Occurring with Paget Disease of Bone by C H G Price; Hypophosphataemic Osteomalacia Secondary to Vascular Tumours of Bone and Soft Tissue by Drs Renton and Shaw; Macrocranium and Macroencephaly in Neurofibromatosis by Drs Holt and Kuhns; Geographic Differences in the Thickness of Cortical Bone – Comparison between a Welsh and Finnish Population by Dr Virtama; Bone Scanning: A Review on Purpose and Method by Drs Ell, Dash and Raymond; Craniodiaphyseal Dysplasia: Evolution over a Five Year Period by Drs Tucker, Lein and Antony.
Six case reports were published – 1 each by Drs Uehlinger, Dalinka et al., Patchefsky, Alexander and Chapman and 2 by Dr von Ronnen.
Volume 1, No 2 included articles by: Alexander on the Effect of Growth Rate on the Strength of the Growth Plate – Shaft Junction; Patton on Differential Diagnosis of Inflammatory Spondylitis; Freedman et al. on Nutritional and Metabolic Bone Disease in a Zoological Population: A Review of Radiologic Findings; Gehweiler, Jr et al. on Fractures of the Atlas Vertebra; Feigin, Strauss and James, Jr. on the Bone Marrow Scan in Experimental Osteomyelitis.
Eight case reports were published by Jacobs, Freiberger and Bullough on a single case; Dahlin, Siegelman and Dellon on a case; Beabout et al. on a Case; Schreiber on a Case and Wilkinson and Kirkpatrick on a Case. It was initially decided to have four publications a year.
A verbal agreement was reached that the Case Report Section would occupy about 1/3 of the number of pages of each issue of the Journal. The Journal began with six issues per year.
Many of the Case Reports appearing in our Journal are selected from the cases presented at the Closed Session each year. The mimeographed notes obtained from the Closed Sessions represent at this time a collection of a large number of cases, constituting a remarkable accumulation of case material, probably unsurpassed in the field of radiology and pathology of skeletal disorders. In judging the value of the presentations of the Case Reports, being assiduously recorded, mailed to members and a copy retained on permanent file, it should be stressed that the material presented each year at Closed Sessions is at least uniformly good, but in many instances, unique and even awesome in scope.
The educational value of this annotated material, consisting as it does of a large number of one-of-a-kind disorders, is incalculable, considering the expertise of the individual members of the Society who present and discuss cases, which in most instances, have histological sections evaluated by the world’s leading authorities in skeletal pathology. The opportunity for learning obviously is unique. Thus are described the beginnings of the International Skeletal Society.
It has been a very rewarding experience. A single sentence voicing the belief that an International Society relating to the studies of diseases of the skeleton would be a good idea, nurtured by a visit to a meeting of the Fleischner Society (dealing with diseases of the chest) and advanced by a third man who knew how to get things done, developed and blossomed into a major organisation. The ISS encompasses currently almost 250 members, including more than 30 outstanding bone pathologists, a number of superb clinical orthopaedists with almost ¾ of the membership consisting of outstanding skeletal radiologists. Of major importance, this organisation has sired an official Journal in which all the members can take pride.
Before closing, it is important to emphasise that two individuals deserve heartfelt gratitude for their roles in establishing the Society and in helping in the formation of, and finally the publication of, the Journal. These individuals are Mrs Rosalyn Levine, who was the secretary to one of us for many years and to whom grateful thanks are expressed for her very important role in devoting herself assiduously to the development of the Society and its Journal in its formative period. Similarly, gratitude is extended to Dr Heinz Gotze, the President of Springer Verlag, who because of his dedication to science and to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, made the Journal possible, giving it his personal imprimatur for excellence.
Finally, the undersigned feels it incumbent to state that of all his professional and even his social activities in a long a full life, nothing has afforded him more pleasure and gratification than to be a part of this great organisation. It has not only been rewarding and hopefully important, but it has been genuinely enjoyable. Thus, grateful thanks are extended to all involved in this Society for making it possible for the undersigned to share in the privilege of being a part of this “labour of love."
Respectfully submitted,
Harold G Jacobson, MD, 1987