Founded by four Scottish physicians, the McGill School of Medicine opened in 1829. Teaching style in the school followed the so-called Edinburgh tradition, which for decades emphasized anatomy and clinical observation and ignored progressive educational theory and scientific advances. Out of this conservative environment, however, emerged four remarkable young professors who would lead the reform that marked a new era in medicine at McGill. William Osler, Francis Shephard, Thomas Roddick, and George Ross introduced laboratory training to teach students the scientific method in a hands-on...