A collection of articles by Dr. Benjamin Brabson Cates and his colleagues outlining surgical procedures and treatments for a variety of injuries, illnesses, and diseases, from August 1888 to July 1939. Published papers and articles are bound together in this collection along with handwritten notes by Dr. Cates. Articles come from sources including the university publications as well as national journals of medicine and surgery.

Dr. Cates primarily wrote about hernias, cancer, amputation, and general surgery cases of many kinds. He frequently wrote letters to editors of local newspapers about a variety of subjects, most relating to his work and Knoxville. As a prominent doctor in Knoxville, there were also many stories written about him and his family.