John Baron (physician)
Encyclopedia
John Baron, M.D. was an English physician, the biographer of Edward Jenner
.
for two years, and on his return settled in practice at Gloucester
. Appointed one of the physicians to the General Infirmary, he acquired a practice as a physician in Gloucester and the surrounding country.
In 1832, poor health after Asiatic cholera obliged him to retire. He lived at Cheltenham
during the rest of his life, disabled by ‘creeping palsy’ during his later years. He was an early advocate, at the Gloucester asylum, of the more humane treatment of lunatics, was a founder of the Medical Benevolent Fund, and an active supporter of the Medical Missionary Society of Edinburgh. He died in 1851.
Among his friends were Dr. Matthew Baillie
, who had a country house in the Cotswolds
, near Cirencester
, and Edward Jenner, who practised in the Vale of Berkeley, on the other side of the hills, sixteen miles from Gloucester.
movement.
Baron's attitude to Jenner was that of the unquestioning disciple. In 1839 he prepared a report on vaccination for the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, ahead of legislation; it was attacked for uncritical acceptance of Jenner's view of the permanence of protection given by vaccinations. Baron's use of statistical evidence was also questioned, by George Gregory
.
Baron also published three books on tubercles:
His services to pathology
gained Baron admission to the Royal Society
in 1823. The theory of tubercles, from Jenner and earlier John Hunter
, later ran out as misleading; it had opponents in Gaspard Laurent Bayle
, René Laennec
, and François-Joseph-Victor Broussais
. Dupuy, a French veterinarian, had been led two years earlier (1817), and independently of Baron, to adopt the same hydatid theory, to explain the hanging ‘pearls’ or ‘grapes’ that are a common form of tubercle in cattle. The idea was that tubercles were hydatid
s become solid. Hydatids were then understood to include not only bladderworms, but almost any kind of vesicle filled with fluid. Jenner had been misled by the coexistence of tubercles and true hydatids in the lung of the ox, leading him to adopt the "hydatid theory" of tubercles in general.
Edward Jenner
Edward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire...
.
Life
He was born at St. Andrews, where his father was professor of rhetoric in the university. At the age of fifteen he was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and he graduated M.D. there four years later (1805), at the age of nineteen. The same year his father died, and he prepared his college lectures for the press. He then attended a patient in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
for two years, and on his return settled in practice at Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. Appointed one of the physicians to the General Infirmary, he acquired a practice as a physician in Gloucester and the surrounding country.
In 1832, poor health after Asiatic cholera obliged him to retire. He lived at Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
during the rest of his life, disabled by ‘creeping palsy’ during his later years. He was an early advocate, at the Gloucester asylum, of the more humane treatment of lunatics, was a founder of the Medical Benevolent Fund, and an active supporter of the Medical Missionary Society of Edinburgh. He died in 1851.
Among his friends were Dr. Matthew Baillie
Matthew Baillie
Matthew Baillie was a Scottish physician and pathologist.-Life:...
, who had a country house in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, near Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, and Edward Jenner, who practised in the Vale of Berkeley, on the other side of the hills, sixteen miles from Gloucester.
Works
He came to know Jenner about 1809, and was designated as Jenner's biographer by the executors. Copious biographical materials were put into his hands soon after Jenner's death in 1823; but the ‘Life of Edward Jenner, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., with Illustrations of his Doctrine and Selections from his Correspondence,’ in two vols. with two portraits, was not completed until 1838. The book includes a history of the vaccinationVaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
movement.
Baron's attitude to Jenner was that of the unquestioning disciple. In 1839 he prepared a report on vaccination for the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, ahead of legislation; it was attacked for uncritical acceptance of Jenner's view of the permanence of protection given by vaccinations. Baron's use of statistical evidence was also questioned, by George Gregory
George Gregory (physician)
-Life:He was a grandson of John Gregory, and second son of the Rev. William Gregory, one of the six preachers of Canterbury Cathedral; he was born at Canterbury on 16 August 1790. After his father's death in 1803 he lived with his uncle, Dr. James Gregory, in Edinburgh. He studied medicine in...
.
Baron also published three books on tubercles:
- ‘Enquiry illustrating the Nature of Tuberculated Accretions of Serous Membranes,’ &c., plates, London, 1819;
- ‘Illustrations of the Enquiry respecting Tuberculous Diseases,’ plates, London, 1822; and
- ‘Delineations of the Changes of Structure which occur in Man and some of the Inferior Animals,’ plates, London, 1828.
His services to pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
gained Baron admission to the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1823. The theory of tubercles, from Jenner and earlier John Hunter
John Hunter (surgeon)
John Hunter FRS was a Scottish surgeon regarded as one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour...
, later ran out as misleading; it had opponents in Gaspard Laurent Bayle
Gaspard Laurent Bayle
Gaspard Laurent Bayle was a French physician. He studied medicine under Jean-Nicolas Corvisart , and was a colleague to René Laënnec . Beginning in 1805 he practiced medicine at the Charité in Paris...
, René Laennec
René Laennec
René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec was a French physician. He invented the stethoscope in 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker and pioneered its use in diagnosing various chest conditions....
, and François-Joseph-Victor Broussais
François-Joseph-Victor Broussais
François-Joseph-Victor Broussais was a French physician.-Life:From his father, who was also a physician, he received his first instructions in medicine, and he studied for some years at a college in Dinan named after him, "Collège François Broussais"...
. Dupuy, a French veterinarian, had been led two years earlier (1817), and independently of Baron, to adopt the same hydatid theory, to explain the hanging ‘pearls’ or ‘grapes’ that are a common form of tubercle in cattle. The idea was that tubercles were hydatid
Echinococcosis
Echinococcosis, which is often referred to as hydatid disease or echinococcal disease, is a parasitic disease that affects both humans and other mammals, such as sheep, dogs, rodents and horses. There are three different forms of echinococcosis found in humans, each of which is caused by the larval...
s become solid. Hydatids were then understood to include not only bladderworms, but almost any kind of vesicle filled with fluid. Jenner had been misled by the coexistence of tubercles and true hydatids in the lung of the ox, leading him to adopt the "hydatid theory" of tubercles in general.