The American neurosurgeon and physiologist Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939). Cushing was a skilful neurosurgeon and his work also represented a milestone for the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial tumours. He studied particularly the function and pathology of the pituitary gland situated at the base of the brain. He demonstrated that acromegaly (the increase in size of hands, feet and face) is due to a type of pituitary overactivity and dwarfism with its underactivity. A disease, the Cushing's syndrome, was named after him. It is associated with chronic wasting and is linked with a type of pituitary tumour.