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COVER STORY

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and

THE ART OF

MEDICINE

From the Microscope to the Magnifying Glass

Born May 22, 1859, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , the Scottish age of discovery in medicine in Victorian Britain, Conan
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writer behind Sherlock Holmes, was also a doctor who Doyle was an admittedly mediocre medical student.
received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, He pursued studies in other subjects and began writing
which was renowned at that time as one of the premier his first Sherlock Holmes story while he was a student.
medical institutions in Europe and, indeed, the world. During this time, he was mentored by Dr. Joseph Bell,
a clinical professor of medicine and surgery, who was
Students of creative writing are told repeatedly to “write Conan Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.
what you know.” It seems that Conan Doyle took this
philosophy to heart when he cast a medical doctor, Dr. Bell was a master of observation during a time when
John Watson, as the narrator of his story. (Holmes and diagnostic ability was perhaps the most prized of all
Watson meet for the first time in the pathology laboratory medical skills. Conan Doyle credited his mentor for
of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.) Still, one changing the way he thought about clinical diagnosis,
might wonder where Conan Doyle got the experience to which would lead him to create Sherlock Holmes. He
describe a detective’s mind and deductive reasoning so wondered if, in the same way that Dr. Bell’s clinical
convincingly that his main character, Sherlock Holmes, reasoning ability was able to lead him to resolve clinical
would become a literary legend spanning generations. conundrums so effectively, would a detective be able
to use these skills to solve criminal cases. He later
Educated in the flourishing science of diagnostic medical Continue on Page 15
reasoning during what is now seen as a veritable golden

SCC Quarterly | Volume 4 | Issue 2