American Otological Society (AOS)

The American Otological Society (founded 1868), the second oldest medical society in America, has a rich and well documented history. We owe a debt of gratitude to our forbearers who, from the Society’s inception, annually reported not only its scientific proceedings but also recorded a trove of supplemental material which provides invaluable insight into the personalities, priorities, biases, organizational politics, and controversies facing otologists during their time. These AOS Transactions were published annually between 1868 and 2006 with the exception of the war years of 1943 and 1945. The Transactions include many the seminal works in otology and represent a time capsule of the state-of-the-art during the latter half of the 19th and throughout the 20th centuries.

Three historical monographs have appeared to celebrate the Society’s 100th, 125th, and 150th anniversaries. The 147 page centennial edition, which was published in 1968, provided synopses of each year’s AOS Transactions. It included a few pages each of historical commentary and musings on the future or otology, both authored by Edmund Prince Fowler. The 130 page quasquicentennial, published in 1993, reprinted in full the centennial volume and added synopses of the AOS Transaction from the 1969-1993 period. It includes 7 pages of “informal” photographs of leading AOS members from the preceding quarter century. dicine. Purpose:
The American Otological Society, created in 1868, is dedicated to fostering a dialogue on and dissemination of, information pertaining to advances in evidence based diagnosis and management of otologic and neurotologic disorders. The focus on otologic and neurotologic disorders and scientific advances are translated to the provision of quality care that is consistent with the ACGME general competency areas and the Institute of Medicine competencies.