Background
James Syme was born on 7 November 1799 in Edinburgh. His father was a writer to the signet and a landowner in Fife and Kinross, who lost most of his fortune in attempting to develop the mineral resources of his property.
(Excerpt from Principles and Practice of Surgery Redness....)
Excerpt from Principles and Practice of Surgery Redness. - This symptom is owing to distension of the vessels which convey blood; to blood being admitted into those which usually appear to receive only the colorless part of it, whether this be owing to the red globules not entering at all, or only so few at a time as to conceal their color, since it is only when existing in considerable assemblages that they appear red; and also to bloody effusion into the interstices of the structure concerned. In?ammation of the conjunctiva affords one of the best examples of these changes. The redness varies considerably in shade. It is generally bright and ?orid, like that of arterial blood, but it often has a yellow hue, and still more frequently is dark, or almost purple. The yellow tinge is most frequently observed along with derangement of the biliary secre tion, as in erysipelas; but the dark color depends on different circum stances, the discrimination of which is of great importance in practice. It was formerly thought a certain indication of putrid tendency, or proneness to die from weakness, and an unquestionable indication for administering wine, bark and cordials. It is now observed to depend frequently on obstruction of the respiratory function, preventing the blood from undergoing its proper change. It is seen also when the venous circulation of an in?amed part is impeded. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from Treatise on the Excision of Diseased Joints ...)
Excerpt from Treatise on the Excision of Diseased Joints My object in offering this Treatise on the Excision of Joints to the profession is to call their attention to an operation which seems to have been unjustly neglected. When the arguments for and against it are carefully considered, the presumption appears strong in favour of the proposal; and when the results of its application in practice are examined, they leave no room for doubt that in many cases of frequent occurrence it might supersede the necessity of amputation. A prejudice has hitherto existed against the operation, which not only opposed its general introduction, but even prevented any inquiry into its merits. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from Contributions to the Pathology and Practice ...)
Excerpt from Contributions to the Pathology and Practice of Surgery When a famous oculist confessed that his skill had been acquired at the expense of destroying a hatful of eyes, and a late no less distinguished surgeon declared, that experience in his department of the profession could be attained only by wading through blood, it is to be feared that, although the language might be somewhat rough, the statements were founded on truth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from A Probationary Essay on Necrosis Leveille',...)
Excerpt from A Probationary Essay on Necrosis Leveille', in his very excellent treatise Sur les Necroses, thus eloquently and indignantly' expresses similar sentiments. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from On Diseases of the Rectum It was not my wis...)
Excerpt from On Diseases of the Rectum It was not my wish to criticise the writers who have preceded me; and I have not done so except on one or two occasions, Where it seemed necessary in order to explain my own meaning. From um willingness to extend the limits of the treatise, I have not related detailed cases; but I may assure the reader that there is nothing stated which does not rest upon my own observation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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James Syme was born on 7 November 1799 in Edinburgh. His father was a writer to the signet and a landowner in Fife and Kinross, who lost most of his fortune in attempting to develop the mineral resources of his property.
James was sent to the Royal High School at the age of nine, and remained until he was fifteen, when he entered the University of Edinburgh. For two years he frequented the arts classes (including botany), and in 1817 began the medical curriculum, devoting himself with particular keenness to chemistry.
His chemical experiments led him to the discovery that "a valuable substance is obtainable from coal tar which has the property of dissolving india-rubber, " and could be used for waterproofing silk and other textile fabrics-an idea which was patented a few months afterwards by Charles Mackintosh, of Glasgow.
In the session 1818-1819 Syme became assistant and demonstrator of the dissecting room of Robert Liston, who had started as an extra-mural teacher of anatomy in competition with his old master, Dr John Barclay; in those years he held also resident appointments in the infirmary and the fever hospital, and spent some time in Paris practising dissection and operative surgery.
In 1823 Liston handed over to him the whole charge of his anatomy classes, retaining his interest in the school as a pecuniary venture; the arrangement did not work smoothly, and a feud with Liston arose, which did not terminate until twenty years later, when the latter was settled in London. In 1824-1825 he started the Brown Square school of medicine, but again disagreed with his partners in the venture. Announcing his intention to practise surgery only, Syme started a surgical hospital of his own, Minto House hospital, which he carried on from May 1829 to September 1833, with great success as a surgical charity and school of chnical instruction. It was here that he first put into practice his method of clinical teaching, which consisted in having the patients to be operated or prelected upon brought from the ward into a lecture-room or theatre where the students were seated conveniently for seeing and taking notes.
His private practice had become very considerable, his position having been assured ever since his amputation at the hip joint in 1823, the first operation of the kind in Scotland. In 1833 he succeeded Prof James Russell as Professor of Clinical Surgery in Edinburgh University. Syme's accession to the clinical chair was marked by two important changes in the conditions of it: the first was that the professor should have the care of surgical patients in the infirmary in right of his professorship, and the second, that attendance on his course should be obligatory on all candidates for the medical degree. When Liston removed to London in 1835 Syme became the leading consulting surgeon in Scotland.
He began practice in London in February 1848; but early in May the same year difficulties with two of his colleagues at Gower Street and a desire to " escape from animosity and contention " led him to throw up his appointment. He returned to Edinburgh in July, and was reinstated in his old chair, to which the crown authority had meanwhile found a difficulty in appointing.
In 1849, he broached the subject of medical reform in a letter to the lord advocate; in 1854 and 1857 he addressed open letters on the same subject to Lord Palmerston; and in 1858 a Medical Act was passed which largely followed the lines laid down by himself. As a member of the general medical council called into existence by the act, he made considerable stir in 1868 by an uncompromising statement of doctrines on medical education, which were thought by many to be reactionary; they were, however, merely an attempt to recommend the methods that had been characteristic of Edinburgh teaching since William Cullen's time—namely, a constant reference of facts to principles, the subordination (but not the sacrifice) of technical details to generalities, and the preference of large professional classes and the magnetism of numbers to the tutorial system, which he identified with cramming.
In the 1860s he acted as a surgeon at Leith Hospital.
In April 1869 he had a paralytic seizure, and at once resigned his chair; he never recovered his powers, and died near Edinburgh on the 26th of June 1870.
(Excerpt from Contributions to the Pathology and Practice ...)
(Excerpt from Treatise on the Excision of Diseased Joints ...)
(Excerpt from On Diseases of the Rectum It was not my wis...)
(Excerpt from A Probationary Essay on Necrosis Leveille',...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(Excerpt from Principles and Practice of Surgery Redness....)
He was a Christian whose religious feeling increased as he grew older.
He was elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1849.
Quotes from others about the person
The judgment of his friends was that "he was always right in the matter, but often wrong in the manner, of his quarrels. "
Syme married the sister of his former colleague, Robert Willis.
Syme's daughter Agnes married Joseph Lister, who in 1854 had been appointed first assistant surgeon to Syme at the University of Edinburgh.