Sample two histopathology reports of a specimen of chronic cholecystitis. The first one reads, “The graceful, fragile gossamer folds of mucosa are completely altered in appearance, being loaded down by dense yellow opaque masses, much as a delicate birch tree might be weighed down by a load of snow.”

The second one reads, “Grossly, the gall bladder wall is thickened and firm and the serosal surface show adhesions to surrounding structures. The lamina propria is infiltrated by plasma cells and lymphocytes. The muscle coat is hypertrophied and also shows chronic inflammatory infiltrate. “

The first description comes from the pen of William Boyd, whose writing style- lively and lucid- charmed and seduced us. The second report is the typical description-dull and drab- that we read today. Boyd described organs vividly and eloquently, using a mix of garden fresh metaphors to illuminate his writings. No wonder, we simply loved reading his text book during our graduate days- easy to understand and fun to read. Our generation was very lucky. We had read Boyd’s textbook of Pathology- cover to cover- in the second professional, and we took pains trying to memorize his famous quotations by heart and producing them verbatim in the theory examination. I did not become Pathologist, though because there was another William, also from Canada, who stole my heart and lured me into Medicine. Guess who?