William Francis Ganong • LITFL • Medical Eponym Library

William Francis ‘Fran’ Ganong Jr. (1924 – 2007) was an American endocrinologist and physiologist.

Ganong was sole author of his ‘Review of Medical Physiology‘ textbook for 40 years – the first 22 editions.

Published over 200 articles in the area of neuroendocrinology. Key research into the regulation of aldosterone and the renin-angiotensin system. Elucidated the regulating pathways of aldosterone, particularly the renin-angiotensin system and its neural controls, leading to the development of hypertension drug therapies targeting this pathway

Eponymously associated with Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome

Biography

Born 6 July 1924 in Northampton, Massachusetts
1941 – enrolled at Harvard University, and drafted into the United States Army in December of that year
1946 – received Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, while still in the army
1949 – M.D. degree from Harvard, and commenced internship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston
1951-52 – served as Lieutenant, then Captain in the Army Medical Corps in Japan and Korea. Set up a mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) to treat patients with haemorrhagic fever
1955 – Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley
1958 – stated a research program in physiology at the University of California, San Francisco
1970-87 – chaired the Department of Physiology at the University of California, San Francisco
1977 – President of the American Physiology Society
1979-84 – Editor-in-Chief of Neuroendocrinology journal
1989-2002 – co-editor of Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
Died 23 December 2007, in Albany, California

Medical Eponyms

Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome (1952) Pre-excitation syndrome with short PR interval (A-V conduction time), normal QRS duration and paroxysms of tachycardia: Lown B – Ganong WF – Levine SA

Major Publications

Lown B, Ganong WF, Levine SA. The syndrome of short P-R interval, normal QRS complex and paroxysmal rapid heart action. Circulation. 1952 May;5(5):693-706.
Ganong WF. Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology. McGraw-Hill Education. [Archive of 25e online] Ganong was sole author for 40 years and the first 22 editions.
Stillman JS, Ganong WF. The Guillain-Barre syndrome; report of a case treated with ACTH and cortisone. N Engl J Med. 1952 Feb 21;246(8):293-6.
Ganong WF, Mulrow PJ. Evidence of secretion of an aldosterone-stimulating substance by the kidney. Nature. 1961 Jun 17;190:1115-6.
Reid IA, Morris BJ, Ganong WF. The renin-angiotensin system. Annu Rev Physiol. 1978;40:377-410.
Ganong WF. The brain renin-angiotensin system. Annu Rev Physiol. 1984;46:17-31.

References

Schwartz NB. The Endocrine Society 2002 Annual Awards. Endocr Rev. 2002 Aug;23(4):590-591 [PMID 12202474]
Lenzer J. William Francis Ganong. BMJ : British Medical Journal. 2008;336(7643):564. [PMC2265330]