Sir
Benjamin Brodie was one of the most recognized surgeons at St. George’s
Hospital in London during the nineteenth century. His early education began
at home, being taught by his father, Reverend Peter Brodie. In 1801, he
went to London to study medicine, attending anatomy lectures at St. Bartholomew’s
Hospital. In 1802, he attended the Windmill Street School of Anatomy. By
May 1805, Brodie’s work earned him the position of Assistant Surgeon
at St. George’s Hospital. A few months later, he was admitted as a
member of the prestigious and influential Royal College of Surgeons. Acknowledged
as an outstanding physician and statesman, he served as personal surgeon
to King George IV.
Brodie was a skilled surgeon and successful writer, and his influence remains. In 1819 he published, On the Disease of Joints which served as a manual in understanding and classifying clinical aspects and pathology of joint disease. He first described a chronic abscess of the tibia in 1832 that has since been named Brodie’s abscess.
Percival
Pott was a surgeon at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London during
the eighteenth century. Initially planning for the clergy, he later decided
to pursue a career in medicine. At 17, he was apprenticed to Edward Nourse
Jr, a surgeon at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital who also taught anatomy
in his home. In 1736, Pott received the Grand Diploma of the Barber Surgeon’s
Company. In 1745, he became Assistant Surgeon and practiced until he eventually
retired in 1787.
Percival Pott wrote Fractures and Dislocations
in 1765. His legacy stems from his detailed description of a compound
ankle fracture he suffered after falling from a horse in 1756. To this
day the eponym Pott's fracture remains. Pott is also remembered for his
account of spinal tuberculosis, characterized by softening and collapse
of the vertebrae that results in a curvature of the spine. As you might
expect, it is still known as Pott's disease.
