University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC): Dr. A. C. Guyton Workshop in the Original School of Medicine

This shop, which is still in use, was best used by Dr. Arthur C. Guyton, his technicians, and his students. Dr. Guyton was the Physiology and Biophysics Department Chairman from 1948 to 1989, and he used this shop to aid him in his colossal cardiovascular research and other projects. The cabinets, spreading from the shop doors down the length of the hall, contain the thousands of devices and prototypes that Dr. Guyton designed or assisted in designing in order to efficiently execute his research. The importance of this shop cannot be overstated for the history of therapeutics, medical technology, and UMMC. Located in the original School of Medicine, the shop is not open to the public.

Dr. Arthur Clifton Guyton served as the Chairman of the Physiology and Biophysics Department from 1948 to 1989. For 41 years, and even the time following as an emeritus professor, Guyton touched the lives of all the medical students and residents that crossed his path. His contribution to the study of human physiology alone could have cemented his reputation, but his research for cardiovascular health is further demonstrate his remarkable intellect and abilities. The shop on the sixth floor and the cabinets filled with thousands of devices that stretch from its doors are living testaments to the legacy Dr. Guyton left for both UMMC and for the medical field. The story of his practice, research, textbook, and shop are ones that University of Mississippi medical students aspire to emulate.

Dr. Guyton was born in Oxford, MS, on September 8, 1919 to Dr. William (Billy) S. Guyton and Kate Smallwood Guyton. Dr. William Guyton was a respected ear, nose, and throat specialist who was also a dean of the University of Mississippi's (Ole Miss's) early two-year medical school. Mrs. Kate Guyton was a math and physics teacher who had also done prior work as a missionary in China. Arthur Guyton graduated top of his class from both University High School and the University of Mississippi, where he completed his undergraduate work in three years. He worked his way to Harvard's medical school and followed that with a surgical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, which was interrupted by World War II. After serving his country by working for the U.S. Navy at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda and a later relocation to Camp Detrick in Maryland, Guyton was awarded an Army Commendation Citation and returned to Massachusetts General Hospital to finish the residency.

Unfortunately, before completing his residency, Guyton suffered from polio that left him paralyzed in his right leg and shoulder, but it certainly didn't stop him. In fact, his own affliction led to his development of a joystick-controlled electric wheelchair, a specialized leg brace, and a machine that aided paralyzed individuals move from their beds, baths, or anyplace from which they would need to be lifted. Along with the rewards he had already received, these inventions earned him a Presidential Citation. Dr. Guyton and his wife, Ruth Weigle Guyton, returned to Guyton's hometown of Oxford, MS, in 1947, where Dr. A. C. Guyton would begin teaching pharmacology until he was named the chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics the following year. When the University of Mississippi Medical Center opened in Jackson, MS, in 1955, the Guytons followed, and Dr. Guyton personally supervised the movement of the Physiology Department. He had a machine shop in the two-year school that consisted of a lathe, drill press and sheet metal break, and saw to it that the machines were properly placed on the sixth floor of the medical school, where they are still used now. Among his many research achievements (see below) Dr. Guyton's most well-known achievement is his Textbook of Medical Physiology, which is still the most widely used physiology textbook in the world, having been printed in 14 languages.

It is no secret that Dr. Guyton was a giant in the world of cardiovascular research. In his pursuit to find the answer for the cause of hypertension, Guyton managed to develop and discover answers to many other questions. His more than 640 published books and papers and more than 80 awards, honors, and recognitions are undeniable testaments to his contributions to cardiovascular and other realms of research. He discovered that the amount of blood that the heart pumps (also known as cardiac output) is not determined by the heart but by the amount of blood that was sent to the heart in need of oxygen. The needs of the body are what determine how much blood enters and leaves the heart. One answer that was slow to be accepted was his discovery of negative pressure of the fluid found between the cells (interstitial fluid). Most scientists found it difficult to believe that there could be sub-atmospheric pressure in one sixth of the body, but Guyton was correct. A final discovery was one that resulted in the "infinite gain" theory, which states that the kidneys are the body's most powerful long-term blood pressure regulators.

What makes these discoveries and projects so much more impressive, however, is that Guyton sometimes had to design his own equipment. The experiments he conducted required machinery that had not yet been developed, so he used his shop. He and his head technician, Ginger Howard, developed specific machines and prototypes that Guyton could use in order to make his discoveries. Guyton even went so far as to build analog computers to aid in modeling and analysis of the cardiovascular system, a contribution which was only amplified with the introduction of digital computers to areas such as the kidneys, autonomic nervous system, and many more.

The machinery, devices, and prototypes that Dr. Guyton, Ginger Howard, and his students and residents designed and constructed remain in UMMC, on the very floor where the shop lives. The long line of cabinets that span from the shop doors and past the elevators are full of these designs. Their existence asserts Dr. Guyton's position as a giant in the world of medical science and his aptitude as what we would call a biomedical engineer today. His determination to find answers is seen in his shop, his research, his textbook, and his students. Arthur C. Guyton's outstanding career likely would have continued through his teaching, research, and experimental physiology, but he and his wife were tragically lost to a car accident on April 3, 2003.   

The shop on the sixth floor is more than just a room of machinery. Its significance can be seen in the research building that holds Dr. Guyton's name. His textbook, now in its 14th edition and printed in 14 languages, might be his most well-known legacy, but his shop holds a more intimate and perhaps an even more massive footprint from the giant that is Dr. Arthur C. Guyton.

“Dr. Arthur C. Guyton.” University of Mississippi Medical Center. Accessed March 30, 2021. https://www.umc.edu/UMMC/About-Us/History/Arthur-Guyton/Guyton-Overview.html.

Forbes, Amy. Photograph. March 30, 2021.

Guyton, Arthur C. “Regulation of Cardiac Output.” Accessed March 30, 2021. https://derangedphysiology.com/php/CICM/Required-Reading/Revision-Notes-for-Cardiothoracic-ICU/images/Regulation_of_Cardiac_Output_.16.pdf. 

Hall, John D. “Arthur C. Guyton, MD.” Circulation, June 24, 2003. Accessed March 30, 2021. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.0000080480.62058.4a.

Pettus, Gary. “The Guytons: Offspring Remember Life with Legendary Parents,” September 26, 2018. Accessed April 20, 2021. https://www.umc.edu/news/News_Articles/2018/09/The%20Guytons%20Offspring%20remembe r%20life%20with%20Ruth%20and%20Arthur.html