Tag Archives: Physicians of Note

John Bostock and hay fever

August 25, 2022

JMS Pearce Hull, England   Fig 1. Bostock’s paper to Medico-Chirurgical Transactions of London, 1819. Before the 1800s, hay fever, now estimated as affecting 5–10% of Western populations, was not widely recognized by physicians. James MacCulloch MD FRS, a doctor and geologist, in 1828 was the first to use the term hay fever, which he […]

Denis Parsons Burkitt

June 27, 2022

JMS Pearce Hull, England   Fig 1. 7-year-old boy with Burkitt’s lymphoma involving his right mandible (A) before treatment and (B) after treatment by Burkitt.3   Aphorisms from wise medical men and women have fallen out of fashion. Because each line is to a degree debatable, one of my favorites is: Attitudes are more important […]

Robert James Graves MD FRS

May 23, 2022

JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom   He fed fevers Robert Graves Fig 1. Clinical Lectures on the Practice of Medicine   In Paris in 1828 there was a remarkable epidemic of acute sensori-motor polyneuropathy known as épidémie de Paris. Described by Auguste-Francois Chomel, the cause was a mystery.1 As a neurologist, my interest in […]

Caleb Hillier Parry MD FRS

May 5, 2022

JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom   Fig 1. Caleb Hillier Parry Hyperthyroidism or exophthalmic goiter, often called Graves’ disease or Basedow’s disease, was first recorded by Caleb Parry (1755-1822) (Fig 1) posthumously in 1825. William Osler called the affliction “Parry’s disease.” Caleb Parry was born in Cirencester, the son of Joshua Parry, a dissenting […]

William Withering’s botanical microscope

February 25, 2022

JMS Pearce East Yorks, Hull, England   Fig 1. William Withering (left). Engraving by W. Bond after a painting by Carl Frederik von Breda, 1822. Public domain. Via Wellington Local Agenda 21 Group.  Frontispiece colored illustration of foxglove from An Account of the Foxglove by William Withering (right). Printed by M. Swinney for G. G. […]

John Abernethy

January 10, 2022

John Abernethy, surgeon (1764-1831). Engraving by John Cochran after a painting by Thomas Lawrence. c. 1820-1840. First published in vol. 4 of Medical portrait gallery. Biographical memoirs of the most celebrated physicians, surgeons, etc., etc., who have contributed to the advancement of medical science. by Thomas Joseph Pettigrew. Via Wikimedia. Public Domain. John Abernethy was […]

William Osler

December 8, 2021

Sir William Osler circa 1912. Unknown photographer. Via Wikimedia. CC BY 4.0. It is good to review periodically the lives of famous men lest they be forgotten by new generations. In medicine few people have been the subject of more books, articles, and reviews then Sir William Osler. He has been called the father of […]

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

November 12, 2021

JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom   Fig 1. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Credit: Walery, published by Sampson Low & Co. in February 1889. Via Wikimedia. Elizabeth Blackwell and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson were the first women physicians in the United States and Britain.1 Both were born in England. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-I9I0) was born in Bristol but […]

Johannes Jacob Wepfer (1620-1695)

October 28, 2021

JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom   Fig 1. Johannes Jacob Wepfer. From https://www.prints-online.com/johann-jacob-wepfer-14108627.html The eminent physician Johannes Jakob Wepfer (1620-1695) was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, on the right bank of the Rhine. Little is written of his early years but the child Wepfer may have gazed and wondered about Schaffhausen’s countryside, its many oriel […]

Joseph Škoda (1805–1881)

October 25, 2021

Joseph Skoda. Charcoal drawing by Berger, 1883, after A. F. Baschta.. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark Medicine in Vienna developed in two distinct phases.1-3 The first began in 1745 when Empress Maria Theresa on the advice of Herman Boerhaave4 invited Gerard van Swieten5 to become her personal physician. She also appointed him in charge of medical education, […]