Andrew Taylor Still

Andrew Taylor Still (Template:IPA-en) is the founder of Osteopathy and the American School of Osteopathy. He was born on August 6, 1828, and died on December 12, 1917.

Etymology

The name "Andrew" is of Greek origin, derived from the Greek name "Andreas", which means "manly" or "brave". The middle name "Taylor" is of English origin and is an occupational name for a tailor, derived from the Old French "tailleur". The surname "Still" is of English origin and is a topographic name for someone who lived by a still body of water, from the Middle English "stille".

Life and Career

Andrew Taylor Still was born in Lee County, Virginia. His father, Abram Still, was a Methodist minister and physician. At an early age, Still decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a physician. After studying medicine and serving in the Civil War, Still concluded that the orthodox medical practices of his day were frequently ineffective and sometimes harmful. He devoted the next ten years of his life to studying the human body and finding alternative ways to treat disease. His research resulted in the development of a philosophy of health and disease that he called osteopathy.

In 1892, Still established the American School of Osteopathy (now A.T. Still University) in Kirksville, Missouri, the first school of its kind. The school taught a form of medicine that emphasized the interrelationship between structure and function in the human body. Still's ideas are the basis of osteopathy and have had a significant impact on modern medicine.

Related Terms

Osteopathy: A type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones.
American School of Osteopathy: The first osteopathic medical school in the world, founded by Andrew Taylor Still in 1892.
A.T. Still University: A fully accredited private graduate school of health sciences, which includes the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, the founding college of osteopathic medicine.