Matthew Baillie
Encyclopedia
Matthew Baillie was a Scottish
physician
and pathologist.
, he was a pupil of his anatomist John Hunter
, his uncle; and his father-in-law, Dr. Thomas Denman
, a preeminent obstetrician in London at the turn of the nineteenth century, whose textbook on childbirth had been first published in 1788. Baillie was educated at the Old Grammar School of Hamilton (renamed the Hamilton Academy
in 1848), the University of Glasgow
, and obtained his MD
from the University of Oxford
in 1789, having been named Snell Exhibitioner
in 1779. He became Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
in 1790, and specialised in morbid anatomy.
Baillie died of tuberculosis
in 1823 at the age of 62. He is buried in Duntisbourne, Gloucestershire.
(TGV) and situs inversus
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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...
and pathologist.
Life
The brother of poetess Joanna BaillieJoanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie was a Scottish poet and dramatist. Baillie was very well known during her lifetime and, though a woman, intended her plays not for the closet but for the stage. Admired both for her literary powers and her sweetness of disposition, she hosted a brilliant literary society in her...
, he was a pupil of his anatomist 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...
, his uncle; and his father-in-law, Dr. Thomas Denman
Thomas Denman (physician)
Thomas Denman, the elder, M.D. was an English physician. He was the second son of John Denman , an apothecary born at Bakewell, Derbyshire, on 27 June 1733. After a career in naval medicine he made a considerable amount of money in midwifery...
, a preeminent obstetrician in London at the turn of the nineteenth century, whose textbook on childbirth had been first published in 1788. Baillie was educated at the Old Grammar School of Hamilton (renamed the Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school situated in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, Hamilton Academy featured in the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine article series on...
in 1848), the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, and obtained his MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1789, having been named Snell Exhibitioner
Snell exhibitioner
The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to a student of the University of Glasgow to allow him or her to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 1677, although the original stipulation referred...
in 1779. He became Fellow 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...
in 1790, and specialised in morbid anatomy.
Baillie died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1823 at the age of 62. He is buried in Duntisbourne, Gloucestershire.
Works
His 1793 book, The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body, is considered the first systematic study of pathology, and the first publication in English on pathology as a separate subject. He is credited with first identifying transposition of the great vesselsTransposition of the great vessels
Transposition of the great vessels is a group of congenital heart defects involving an abnormal spatial arrangement of any of the primary blood vessels: superior and/or inferior vena cavae , pulmonary artery, pulmonary veins, and aorta...
(TGV) and situs inversus
Situs inversus
Situs inversus is a congenital condition in which the major visceral organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. The normal arrangement is known as situs solitus...
.
See also
- Dr. Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet
- Hunterian CollectionHunterian CollectionThe Hunterian Collection is one of the best-known collections of the University of Glasgow and is cared for by the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and Glasgow University Library. It contains 650 manuscripts and some 10,000 printed books, 30,000 coins and 15,000 anatomical and natural history...
Works
- The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body (1793)
- Anatomy of the Gravid Uterus, by William Hunter published by Baillie (1794)
- A Series of Engravings, tending to illustrate the Morbid Anatomy of some of the most Important Parts of the Human Body (1799, 1802, 1812)
- Lectures and Observations on Medicine by the late Matthew Baillie (1825)
- An Account of a Particular Change of Structure in the Human Ovarium (Philosophical Transacations, London, 1789,Vol.79, pp. 71–78)
External links
- AIM25: Royal College of Physicians: BAILLIE, Matthew (1761-1823) Royal College of Physicians.
- Balliol College, Oxford, archives List of Snell Exhibitioners from the University of Glasgow. Retrieved 2011-01-20