James Couper Brash, M.C., M.D., F.R.C.S.Ed., D.Sc. LL.D., F.R.S.Ed. (October 24, 1886, Cathcart, UK - January 19, 1958, Edinburgh, UK) was a leading anatomist and embryologist in Britain.

Early life & family

James Couper Brash was the son of James Brash, J.P. Educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh, Brash graduated B.Sc. in 1908 and M.B., Ch.B. in 1910. Professor Brash married Margaret, daughter of William Henderson, of Leslie, Fife, and she survived him together with one son (James Couper Henderson Brash) and one daughter (Nancy Brash).

Career

After holding the post of resident physician at the Royal Infirmary and working as a demonstrator of anatomy at Edinburgh, he became an assistant in the anatomical department in the University of Leeds. During the first world war he served as a major in the R.A.M.C. in France and Belgium and was awarded the Military Cross. Soon after his return to civilian life he was appointed assistant professor of anatomy at Birmingham University, becoming professor in 1922 and, later, dean of the medical faculty. In 1923 the university granted him the degree of M.D. When in 1931 he returned to Edinburgh as successor to Professor A. Robinson in the chair of anatomy, Professor Brash had already become recognized as one of the leading anatomists in Britain. His own research was concerned mainly with embryology

Embryology

Embryology is a science which is about the development of an embryo from the fertilization of the ovum to the fetus stage...

 and the development of the jaws and teeth, on which he wrote several monograph

Monograph

A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...

s for the Dental Board of the United Kingdom. With Professor J. Glaister he was the author of a book entitled Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case, the trial of Buck Ruxton

Buck Ruxton

Dr Buck Ruxton , also known as Buktyar Rustomji Ratanji Hakim, was a Parsi doctor and murderer, involved in one of the United Kingdom's most publicised murder cases of the 1930s, which gripped the nation at the time...

. He, also took over from Professor Robinson the editing of Cunningham's Manual of Practical Anatomy and Cunningham's Textbook of Anatomy.

Retirement & death

Professor Brash, who retired from the chair of anatomy at Edinburgh in 1954, received many distinctions during his career as a research worker and teacher. He was a past-president of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland; he was an examiner in anatomy at Cambridge and other universities; at the Annual Meeting of the B.M.A. in 1922 he was vice-president of the Section of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, of which he was elected a Fellow in 1932, he was Struthers lecturer from the University of Leeds he received the honorary D.Sc. and from the University of St. Andrews the honorary LL.D. and he was an honorary member of the British Dental Association.

Professor Brash died suddenly at his home in Edinburgh on January 19th 1958 at 71 years of age.