George Washington Crile

Crile was born in Chili, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1885. In 1887, he received his M.D. from Wooster Medical College which merged to form modern day Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He did further study at Vienna, London and Paris.

He taught at Wooster from 1889 to 1900. He was professor of clinical medicine at Western Reserve University from 1900 to 1911, and was then made professor of surgery. He was chair of surgery at Lakeside Hospital from 1910 to 1924. Crile was responsible for whole blood transfusion, in 1906, and he spurred the use of the new X-ray machines.

During the Spanish–American War, he was made a member of the Medical Reserve Corps and served in Puerto Rico (1898). He was made an honorable F.R.C.S. (London) in 1913. After America entered World War I, he became a major in the medical O.T.C., and professional director (1917–18). He served with the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) in France and was senior consultant in surgical research (1918–19). He was made lieutenant-colonel in June 1918, and colonel later in the year.

He made important contributions to the study of blood pressure and of shock in operations. Realizing that any strong emotion, such as fear before operation, produced shock, he attempted to allay dread by psychic suggestion, also endeavouring to prevent the subjective shock which affects the patient, even when under general anaesthesia, by first anaesthetizing the operative region with cocaine for several days, if necessary, before operating. Thus nerve communication between the affected part and the brain was already obstructed when the general anaesthetic was administered. For his work in shockless surgery he received a gold medal from the National Institute of Social Sciences in 1917.

He was one of the founders of the American Association for Cancer Research in 1907.

When he retired from the Medical School at age 65, Crile went into private practice and worked with those establishing the new Cleveland Clinic.

He married Grace Elizabeth McBride (1876–1948), a sister of David Reed. His son, George Crile Jr., was also a surgeon. His grandson George Crile III was a journalist, author, and CBS producer.

He died on January 7, 1943, in Cleveland. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.