David A. Rytand

David Abramson Rytand (November 4, 1909 – November 23, 1991) was an American physician from California. He spent sixty-five years at Stanford University, first as a student and then as a faculty member. He was the chair of the department of medicine from 1954 to 1960. He was the editor of the Annual Review of Medicine from 1955 to 1963.

Early life and education David Abramson Levy was born on November 4, 1909, in San Francisco, California, He attended Stanford University, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1929 It has been speculated that he changed his surname from "Levy" to "Rytand" due to discriminatory Jewish quotas that were in effect for many American universities' admission processes. He was a member of several scientific societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Western Society of Clinical Investigation, Western Association of Physicians, and California Academy of Medicine. He was president of the latter three organizations in 1954, 1959, and 1985, respectively. The Rytand murmur, or la maladie de Rytand, is a heart condition he described in 1946 from individuals with late diastolic heart murmurs correlated with calcification of the mitral annulus and atrioventricular block. In 1984, he received one of the Stanford Medical School's highest honors, the Albion Walter Hewlett Award.