Dr. J. Edmund Bradley, retired professor of pediatric medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who became the first head of the pediatrics department there, died Wednesday of heart failure at his home in San Diego. The former Ruxton resident was 92.

Dr. Bradley spent 31 years with the university, 17 of them as department head. He retired in 1965.

Over the years, the doctor's popularity spread from staff to patients and to their parents, and when he walked through hospital corridors children happily followed him like the Pied Piper.

His accomplishments included the establishment of a pediatric research laboratory and innovations in patient care at University Hospital and outpatient clinics throughout the state. In 1964, a teaching and training program for interns and residents organized by Dr. Bradley was rated one of the top five in the nation by the American Medical Association.

Dr. Bradley, who began his association with the university in 1934, maintained a private practice until joining the staff full time in 1947.

"He trained the majority of the senior practicing pediatricians in the state and was a great role model for so many," said Dr. Murray M. Kappelman, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who had been a chief resident under Dr. Bradley. "He was a superb physician. I never saw a child terrified or afraid of him."

It wasn't uncommon for Dr. Bradley -- a tall, kindly, soft-spoken man who wore rimless gold glasses -- to carry a lonely, crying baby back to his office for comforting.

"His whole message was thoroughness, kindness and concern for children," said Dr. Erney Maher, a Catonsville pediatrician who studied under Dr. Bradley.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dr. Bradley discovered a 44.4 percent incidence of lead poisoning among the lower socioeconomic groups in Baltimore. His later research, and use of the drugs BAL and EDTA, led to effective treatment of acute lead encephalopathy.

Dr. Bradley is credited with being the first to understand that high blood pressure in children was often caused by a malignancy of the kidney called Wilm's tumor. He also developed several widely used treatments for controlling epidemic viral vomiting.

"He had a sixth sense when it came to a diagnosis," said his son, Dr. Mark E. Bradley of Potomac, who as a youngster accompanied his father on house calls. "He saw children whose problems others couldn't diagnose."

The elder Dr. Bradley established the first pediatric outpatient clinic at the old Provident Hospital in West Baltimore.

After moving to San Diego in 1970, he served as an adviser to Children's Hospital there. He kept in touch with his former students, often sending handwritten letters and cards.

"He remained active until the end of his life," said his daughter, Marcia Gallo of Solana Beach, Calif.

Born in Baltimore and raised in Ellicott City, he was a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School and received his bachelor's degree from Loyola College in 1928. He received his medical degree in 1932 from Georgetown University and completed his internship at Mercy Hospital.

Plans for services are incomplete.

In addition to his son and daughter, Dr. Bradley is survived by his wife of 66 years, the former Kathryn Strong; and two grandchildren.