The Vilhelm Magnus Medal

The medal is named after Vilhelm Magnus (1871-1929) who is considered the founding father of neurosurgery in Norway. Vilhelm Magnus was born in the United States in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Following graduation in Oslo, he started his clinical training in neurology and became an early member of the small group of neurologists of the time that were dissatisfied with the therapeutic nihilism generally accepted in relation to diseases of the nervous system. After working with Victor Horsley, whom he held in high esteem. Magnus devoted himself to surgically treatable lesions in the nervous system. During a quarter of a century, he single-handedly established the field of neurosurgery in Norway. Magnus is remembered as a brilliant neurosurgeon with a broad academic mind and startling diligence. He published his first scientific paper in 1899 and his total contribution to the literature amounted to 70 papers. In 1901 he was able to demonstrate the importance of the corpus luteum in the first three weeks of pregnancy. As early as 1903 Magnus manifested his interest in the surgical treatment of brain tumors. In 1926 his surgical material included 216 patients, with an 8% operative mortality rate among 161 cases of supratentorial tumor versus 17% for 55 cases of infratentorial tumors.