Philip G. Lindsay

Philip Gaylord Lindsay (1937-2017) was an American physician and psychiatrist.

Dr Lindsay, board certified in internal medicine and psychiatry, was in private practice for over 40 years—always in suit or jacket and bow tie. Central to the development of a psychiatric service at Valley Medical Center and then to the psychiatry ICU at Providence Hospital, Seattle

Distinguished physician, nature photographer, ornithologist, sculptor and artist. Dr Lindsay is remembered eponymously for Lindsay nails (1967)

Biography

• Born on January 21, 1937
• 1955 – Auburn Academy, Washington
• 1959 – BS in Zoology at Walla Walla College, Washington
• 1963 – MD, Lorna Linda University, California
• 1964 – Internship at Los Angeles County General Hospital
• 1966-1968 Captain, United States Air Force, Tinker AFB
• 1971-2003 Assistant clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Washington
• 1973 – Founder of psychiatry inpatients services, Valley General Hospital
• 1977 – Founder of psychiatry inpatients services, Providence Medical Center
• 1992-1994 Chairman, Department of psychiatry, Providence Medical Center, Seattle
• Died on September 3, 2017

Medical Eponyms

Lindsay nails (1967)

Half-and-half nails is an apparent leukonychia of the proximal portion of the nail which is white and distinct from the reddish brown distal band, which occupies the remaining 20-60% of the nail bed.

Lindsay reviewed 1,500 patients on the general medical wards/ clinics of Iowa Hospitals were examined for nail abnormalities during the period of July 1964 to January 1966.

A new nail syndrome, designated the half-and-half nail, has been observed in 25 patients. Twenty-four of these patients had evidence of renal disease and 21 had azotemia. The pattern of proximal nail bed whiteness and distal nail bed red, pink, or brown band occupying 20% to 60% of nail length should alert one to the possibility of azotemia. This pattern seems distinct from that white nail of cirrhosis described by Terry.

Lindsay 1967

Lindsay described how there was no correlation between the severity of azotemia and distal band length, and no pattern for sex, age or cause of renal failure found.

Major Publications

• Lindsay PG. The Half and Half Nail, J Lab Clin Med 1965; 66: 892
• Lindsay PG. The half-and-half nail. Arch Intern Med. 1967; 119(6): 583‐587. [Lindsay’s nails]
• Lindsay PG, Wyckoff M. The depression-pain syndrome and its response to antidepressants. Psychosomatics. 1981;22(7):571‐577
• Schwartz M, Friedman R, Lindsay P, Narrol H. The relationship between conceptual tempo and depression in children. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1982;50(4):488‐490.
• Lindsay PG, Olsen RB. Maprotiline in pain-depression. J Clin Psychiatry. 1985; 46(6): 226‐228.
• Grant BL, Lindsay PB. Psychosis and water intoxication as presenting symptoms of pulmonary carcinoma. Psychosomatics. 1986;27(10):732‐733.

References

Biography

• Philip G Lindsay juror declaration. LINX, 2002
• Obituary. Philip G. Lindsay ’63. Loma Linda University School of Medicine Alumni Journal. 2018; 89(2): 40

Eponymous terms

• Avhad G, Ghuge P. Half and half nail. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2014;5(Suppl 1):S67.
• Oanță A, Iliescu V, Țărean S. Half and Half Nails in a Healthy Person. Acta Dermatovenerol Croat. 2017 Dec;25(4):303-304

Samuel McCarney

Final year Nursing student, University of Notre Dame, Australia. Heading into a Career in Critical care.

Mike Cadogan

Associate Professor Curtin Medical School, Curtin University. Emergency physician MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.  Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | Eponyms | Books | Twitter |