My Role Model

Arthur Clifton Guyton was born in Oxford, Mississippi, to Dr. Billy S.
Guyton, a highly respected eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist, who later
became Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical School, and Kate Smallwood
Guyton, a mathematics and physics teacher who had been a missionary
in China before marriage.

During his formative years, Arthur enjoyed watching
his father work at the Guyton Clinic, playing chess and swapping stories with
William Faulkner, and building sailboats (one of which he later sold to
Faulkner). He also built countless mechanical and electrical devices, which he
continued to do throughout his life. His brilliance shone early as he graduated
top in his class at the University of Mississippi. He later distinguished himself
at Harvard Medical School and began his postgraduate surgical training at
Massachusetts General Hospital.

His medical training was interrupted twice—once to serve in the Navy during
World War II and again in 1946 when he was stricken with poliomyelitis during
his final year of residency training. Suffering paralysis in his right leg, left arm,
and both shoulders, he spent nine months in Warm Springs, Georgia, recuperating
and applying his inventive mind to building the first motorized wheelchair
controlled by a “joy stick,” a motorized hoist for lifting patients, special leg
braces, and other devices to aid the handicapped. For those inventions he
received a Presidential Citation.

He returned to Oxford where he devoted himself to teaching and research
at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and was named Chair of the
Department of Physiology in 1948. In 1951 he was named one of the ten outstanding
men in the nation. When the University of Mississippi moved its............

A Great Physiologist. Arthur Guyton’s research contributions, which include
more than 600 papers and 40 books, are legendary and place him among the
greatest physiologists in history. His research covered virtually all areas of cardiovascular
regulation and led to many seminal concepts that are now an integral
part of our understanding of cardiovascular disorders, such as hypertension,
heart failure, and edema. It is difficult to discuss cardiovascular physiology
without including his concepts of cardiac output and venous return, negative
interstitial fluid pressure and regulation of tissue fluid volume and edema....

A Master Teacher. Although Dr. Guyton’s research
accomplishments are legendary, his contributions as an
educator have probably had an even greater impact.
He and his wonderful wife Ruth raised ten children,
all of whom became outstanding physicians—a
remarkable educational achievement. Eight of the
Guyton children graduated from Harvard Medical
School, one from Duke Medical School, and one from
The University of Miami Medical School after receiving
a Ph.D. from Harvard. An article published in
Reader’s Digest in 1982 highlighted their extraordinary
family life.......

An Inspiring Role Model. Dr. Guyton’s accomplishments
extended far beyond science, medicine, and education.
He was an inspiring role model for life as well
as for science. No one was more inspirational or influential
on my scientific career than Dr. Guyton. He
taught his students much more than physiology—
he taught us life, not so much by what he said but by
his unspoken courage and dedication to the highest
standards.........