George Thomson (physician)
Encyclopedia
George Thomson was an English
physician
, medical writer and pamphleteer. He was a leading figure in an attempt to create a "College of Chemical Physicians", a rival to the established Royal College of Physicians
. He rejected the traditional Galenic
approach to medicine and argued against medical bloodletting
, purging
and the doctrine of curing by "contraries". He performed a splenectomy
on a dog which stimulated debate in scientific and medical circles, and challenged prevailing medical theories about the body.
; he was taken prisoner by the parliamentarians
at Newbury
in 1644 and spent a period in Fleet prison
in London
. On his release he attempted to obtain a license from the College of Physicians, but finding the licensing charge too excessive, went on to obtain his M.D.
from Leyden University (in the Netherlands
) instead, graduating on 15th June 1648; the thesis he submitted for this purpose was "Disputatio de Apoplexia" (Leyden, 1648). He subsequently rejected Galenic medicine
, becoming a strong supporter of the ideas of Jan Baptist van Helmont
(Helmontian medicine).
Around 1656, he performed a splenectomy
on a dog, successfully keeping the animal alive afterwards for more than 2 years. This challenged the prevailing humoralist
theory of the body, and attracted the attention of physicians and scientists in London, including William Harvey
and Robert Boyle
. During the great plague
of 1665 he lived in London, and made a special study of the symptoms, even dissecting the body of a plague victim. In 1665 he published "Loimologia: a Consolatory Advice, and some brief Observations concerning the present Pest", in which he reflected on the conduct of those members of the Royal College of Physicians
who left the city during the plague. He accused them of running away and "leaving this great city destitute of their help, when it most needed it". This pamphlet drew a furious reply from John Heydon
entitled "Psonthonphanchia, or a Quintuple Rosiecrucian Scourge for the due Correction of that Pseudo-chymist and Scurrilous Emperick, Geo. Thomson" (London, 1665).
In 1665, Thomson also published "Galeno-pale, or a chymical Trial of the Galenists, that their Dross in Physick may be discovered", in which he protested against the contempt of English medical practitioners for experience, and their implicit reliance on theory. He also argued strongly against the excessive Bloodletting
and purging
in vogue, and against the method of attempting to cure diseases by contraries. This drew a reply by William Johnson, entitled "Agyrto-mastik Or, some brief animadversions upon two late treatises: one of Master George Thomsons, entituled Galeno-Pale etc."(London, 1665), which was published, together with a eulogy of "Galeno-pale", by George Starkey. In the following year Thomson pursued the subject in ‘Loimotomia, or the Pest anatomised’.
In 1670 Thomson published a treatise against blood-letting under the title of "Haimatiasis, or the true Way of preserving the Bloud", which plunged him into a new controversy with Henry Stubbe (1631–1676), who replied in "The Lord Bacon's Relation of the Sweating-Sickness examined, in a Reply to George Thomson, Pretender to Physick and Chymistry, together with a Defence of Phlebotomy" (London, 1671). Thomson rejoined in "A check given to the insolent garrulity of Henry Stubbe etc." (London, 1671). Letters were exchanged and published by Thomson in the following year. In 1673, he published "Epilogismi Chymici Observationes necnon Remedia Hermetica Longa in Arte Hiatrica exercitatione constabilita", and, in 1675, "The direct method of curing chymically etc".
Thomson was married twice: first, on 2 November 1667, to Abigail, daughter of Hugh Nettleshipp, salter, of Wandsworth, Surrey; and secondly, on 31 October 1672, to Martha Bathurst of Battersea, Surrey.
Thomson's portrait, engraved from life in 1670 by William Sherwin
, is prefixed to several of his works.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, medical writer and pamphleteer. He was a leading figure in an attempt to create a "College of Chemical Physicians", a rival to the established Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
. He rejected the traditional Galenic
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
approach to medicine and argued against medical bloodletting
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...
, purging
Heroic medicine
Heroic medicine is a twentieth century term for aggressive medical practices or methods of treatment used until the mid-nineteenth century, and usually refers to treatments that scientific advances later replaced....
and the doctrine of curing by "contraries". He performed a splenectomy
Splenectomy
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen.-Indications:The spleen, similar in structure to a large lymph node, acts as a blood filter. Current knowledge of its purpose includes the removal of old red blood cells and platelets, and the detection and fight...
on a dog which stimulated debate in scientific and medical circles, and challenged prevailing medical theories about the body.
Life and work
Thomson was born around 1619, and served under Prince Maurice in the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
; he was taken prisoner by the parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
at Newbury
Second Battle of Newbury
The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the English Civil War fought on 27 October, 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.The combined armies of Parliament...
in 1644 and spent a period in Fleet prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. On his release he attempted to obtain a license from the College of Physicians, but finding the licensing charge too excessive, went on to obtain his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Leyden University (in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) instead, graduating on 15th June 1648; the thesis he submitted for this purpose was "Disputatio de Apoplexia" (Leyden, 1648). He subsequently rejected Galenic medicine
Humorism
Humorism, or humoralism, is a now discredited theory of the makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers, positing that an excess or deficiency of any of four distinct bodily fluids in a person directly influences their temperament and health...
, becoming a strong supporter of the ideas of Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"...
(Helmontian medicine).
Around 1656, he performed a splenectomy
Splenectomy
A splenectomy is a surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen.-Indications:The spleen, similar in structure to a large lymph node, acts as a blood filter. Current knowledge of its purpose includes the removal of old red blood cells and platelets, and the detection and fight...
on a dog, successfully keeping the animal alive afterwards for more than 2 years. This challenged the prevailing humoralist
Humorism
Humorism, or humoralism, is a now discredited theory of the makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers, positing that an excess or deficiency of any of four distinct bodily fluids in a person directly influences their temperament and health...
theory of the body, and attracted the attention of physicians and scientists in London, including William Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
and Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
. During the great plague
Great Plague of London
The Great Plague was a massive outbreak of disease in the Kingdom of England that killed an estimated 100,000 people, 20% of London's population. The disease is identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through a flea vector...
of 1665 he lived in London, and made a special study of the symptoms, even dissecting the body of a plague victim. In 1665 he published "Loimologia: a Consolatory Advice, and some brief Observations concerning the present Pest", in which he reflected on the conduct of those members of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
who left the city during the plague. He accused them of running away and "leaving this great city destitute of their help, when it most needed it". This pamphlet drew a furious reply from John Heydon
John Heydon
John Heydon was an English Neoplatonist occult philosopher, Rosicrucian, astrologer and attorney.-Life:Rosicrucian sources, including Heydon's own English Physician's Guide and Frederick Talbot's The Wise Man's Crown, give a florid biography for Heydon, in which he is descended from a King of...
entitled "Psonthonphanchia, or a Quintuple Rosiecrucian Scourge for the due Correction of that Pseudo-chymist and Scurrilous Emperick, Geo. Thomson" (London, 1665).
In 1665, Thomson also published "Galeno-pale, or a chymical Trial of the Galenists, that their Dross in Physick may be discovered", in which he protested against the contempt of English medical practitioners for experience, and their implicit reliance on theory. He also argued strongly against the excessive Bloodletting
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...
and purging
Heroic medicine
Heroic medicine is a twentieth century term for aggressive medical practices or methods of treatment used until the mid-nineteenth century, and usually refers to treatments that scientific advances later replaced....
in vogue, and against the method of attempting to cure diseases by contraries. This drew a reply by William Johnson, entitled "Agyrto-mastik Or, some brief animadversions upon two late treatises: one of Master George Thomsons, entituled Galeno-Pale etc."(London, 1665), which was published, together with a eulogy of "Galeno-pale", by George Starkey. In the following year Thomson pursued the subject in ‘Loimotomia, or the Pest anatomised’.
In 1670 Thomson published a treatise against blood-letting under the title of "Haimatiasis, or the true Way of preserving the Bloud", which plunged him into a new controversy with Henry Stubbe (1631–1676), who replied in "The Lord Bacon's Relation of the Sweating-Sickness examined, in a Reply to George Thomson, Pretender to Physick and Chymistry, together with a Defence of Phlebotomy" (London, 1671). Thomson rejoined in "A check given to the insolent garrulity of Henry Stubbe etc." (London, 1671). Letters were exchanged and published by Thomson in the following year. In 1673, he published "Epilogismi Chymici Observationes necnon Remedia Hermetica Longa in Arte Hiatrica exercitatione constabilita", and, in 1675, "The direct method of curing chymically etc".
Thomson was married twice: first, on 2 November 1667, to Abigail, daughter of Hugh Nettleshipp, salter, of Wandsworth, Surrey; and secondly, on 31 October 1672, to Martha Bathurst of Battersea, Surrey.
Thomson's portrait, engraved from life in 1670 by William Sherwin
William Sherwin (engraver)
William Sherwin was an English engraver, one of the first to work with mezzotints.-Life:He was the son of William Sherwin , the nonconformist minister, and was born at Wallington, Hertfordshire, where his father was rector around 1645. On his print of his father, dated 1672, he styles himself...
, is prefixed to several of his works.
Further reading
- Webster, C. The Helmontian George Thomson and William Harvey: the revival and application of splenectomy to physiological research (Med Hist. 1971 Apr 15(2):154-67.)