Professor Bӧrje Olov Drettner presented his Semon Lecture on the 3rd of November 1983 at the Royal Society of Medicine. Within his talk, he aims to answer Arthur Proetz’s (past Semon Lecturer) question of what has become of the nose and demonstrate the significance of clinical rhinology. To do this, he evaluates treatment methods, improved methods for evaluating results of therapies, rhinological investigation of tumour development and elimination of noxious agents, and also research that benefits not only rhinology but other disciplines.
Journal article version of the lecture
Börje Drettner was born in Linkӧping, Sweden, on the 7th of December 1926. He had a very successful career as an otolaryngologist and, due to his inventive spirit, he had a patent for a device capable of inserting a plastic tube into the maxillary sinus. In recognition of his career, he was elected as President of the European Rhinologic Society and was also a member of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute.