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Robert Gwyn Macfarlane
Robert Gwyn Macfarlane (26 June 1907 – 26 March 1987) was an English hematologist. Life Born in Worthing, Sussex, Gwyn Macfarlane left Cheltenham College in 1924 and a year later entered the Medical School of St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. In 1936 he married Hilary Carson MD and over the next 11 years had five children, a girl followed by four boys. Hilary practised as a GP, whilst always offering Gwyn great academic support. She died in 2010 aged 100 years. During Macfarlane's clinical years he was exposed to the sufferings of haemophiliacs and this subject became the core for his lifelong study into the processes of blood clotting. He examined the venom of many different snakes and isolated the poison of the Russell's viper to have the strongest blood coagulant powerssee video He found that when a compound that included venom at dilutions of 1 in 100,000 was applied to a wound, bleeding diminished. This medicine was later marketed as ''Stypven'' by Burroughs Wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hove built-up area, the 15th most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Since 2010, northern parts of the borough, including the Worthing Downland Estate, have formed part of the South Downs National Park. In 2019, the Art Deco Worthing Pier was named the best in Britain. Lying within the borough, the Iron Age hill fort of Cissbury Ring is one of Britain's largest. The recorded history of Worthing began with the Domesday Book. It is historically part of Sussex in the rape of Bramber; Goring, which forms part of the rape of Arundel, was incorporated in 1929. Worthing was a small mackerel fishing hamlet for many centuries until, in the late 18th century, it developed into an elegant Georgian seaside resort and attracted the well-known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haemophiliacs
Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, and an increased risk of bleeding inside joints or the brain. Those with a mild case of the disease may have symptoms only after an accident or during surgery. Bleeding into a joint can result in permanent damage while bleeding in the brain can result in long term headaches, seizures, or a decreased level of consciousness. There are two main types of haemophilia: haemophilia A, which occurs due to low amounts of clotting factor VIII, and haemophilia B, which occurs due to low levels of clotting factor IX. They are typically inherited from one's parents through an X chromosome carrying a nonfunctional gene. Rarely a new mutation may occur during early development or haemophilia may develop later in life due to antibodies forming agains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Stuart Douglas
Alexander Stuart Douglas FRSE FRCP (1921–1998) was a physician and haematologist. He was Regius Professor of Medicine at Aberdeen University from 1970 to 1985. He received international acclaim for his discoveries in relation to blood coagulation, causes of abnormal bleeding, and causes of thrombosis. He played a key role in identifying the role of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents in preventing heart attacks, setting a modern benchmark for the treatment of heart disease. He was one of the two people in 1951 establishing that Haemophilia split into two groups: isolating what is now commonly called Haemophilia B, then known as Christmas disease after its first known host, Stephen Christmas. Life He was born in Elgin in northern Scotland on 2 October 1921 and was the son of Robert Douglas (1871–1948), a crofter. He was educated at Elgin Academy. He studied Medicine at Glasgow University graduating BSc in 1941. In 1944 Glasgow University granted him MB ChB. From 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzyme Cascade
A biochemical cascade, also known as a signaling cascade or signaling pathway, is a series of chemical reactions that occur within a biological cell when initiated by a stimulus. This stimulus, known as a first messenger, acts on a receptor that is transduced to the cell interior through second messengers which amplify the signal and transfer it to effector molecules, causing the cell to respond to the initial stimulus. Most biochemical cascades are series of events, in which one event triggers the next, in a linear fashion. At each step of the signaling cascade, various controlling factors are involved to regulate cellular actions, in order to respond effectively to cues about their changing internal and external environments. An example would be the coagulation cascade of secondary hemostasis which leads to fibrin formation, and thus, the initiation of blood coagulation. Another example, sonic hedgehog signaling pathway, is one of the key regulators of embryonic development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Bidwell
Ethel Bidwell (1919–2003) was a British research scientist who investigated blood coagulation. In 1950, Bidwell, an enzyme chemist, joined the Oxford University team headed by Gwyn Macfarlane. Two years later, she began to study plasma concentration and selective extraction of factor VIII. By 1953 she had devised a technique to extract and concentrate bovine factor VIII that was 8000 times stronger than human plasma. In 1959 she was working on the preparation of human coagulation factors at the Medical Research Council Blood Coagulation Research Unit at Churchill Hospital, Headington, Oxford. Tilli Tansey wrote of inviting Bidwell to a witness seminar convened by the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group (HoMBRG) is an academic organisation specialising in recording and publishing the oral history of twentieth and twenty-first century biomedicine. It was established in 1990 as the Wellcome Trust's H ...: Furth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosemary Biggs
Rosemary Peyton Biggs (21 April 1912 – 29 June 2001) was an English haematologist. She worked closely with Robert Gwyn Macfarlane at the Radcliffe Infirmary and Churchill Hospital in Oxford, where she studied coagulation disorders, particularly haemophilia. Early life and education Rosemary Biggs was born on 21 April 1912 in London to Edgar Biggs, a goldsmith, and his wife Ethel. Rosemary wished to study medicine but her parents did not approve of her choice, so as a compromise she studied botany, receiving a BSc from the University of London in 1934 and later a PhD in mycology from the University of Toronto. With the beginning of World War II, she returned to London and enrolled at the London School of Medicine for Women; she graduated with an MBBS in 1943. Career In 1944, after holding junior posts in London hospitals, Biggs moved to Oxford, where she joined the Radcliffe Infirmary's pathology department as a graduate assistant. She initially studied crush syndrome a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Gangrene
Gas gangrene (also known as clostridial myonecrosis and myonecrosis) is a bacterial infection that produces tissue gas in gangrene. This deadly form of gangrene usually is caused by ''Clostridium perfringens'' bacteria. About 1,000 cases of gas gangrene are reported yearly in the United States. Myonecrosis is a condition of necrotic damage, specific to muscle tissue. It is often seen in infections with ''C. perfringens'' or any of myriad soil-borne anaerobic bacteria. Bacteria cause myonecrosis by specific exotoxins. These microorganisms are opportunistic and, in general, enter the body through significant skin breakage. Gangrenous infection by soil-borne bacteria was common in the combat injuries of soldiers well into the 20th century, because of non-sterile field surgery and the basic nature of care for severe projectile wounds. Other causes of myonecrosis include envenomation by snakes of the genus ''Bothrops'' (family Viperidae), ischemic necrosis, caused by vascular blockag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps form the Army Medical Services. History Origins Medical services in the British armed services date from the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as the 13th century there are records of surgeons and physicians being appointed by the English army to attend in times of war; but this was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer (MO), both in peacetime and in war. For much of the next two hundred years, army medical provision was mostly arranged on a regimental basis, with each battalion arranging its own hospital facilities and medical supplies. An element of oversight was provided by the appointment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to dom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forward at a meeting of the Radcliffe Trustees, who were administering John Radcliffe's estate valued at £4,000, in 1758. The facility was constructed on land given by Thomas Rowney, one of the two members of parliament for Oxford. The foundation stone was laid on 27 August 1761 and the new facility was officially opened on 18 October 1770. A fountain of the Greek god Triton was placed in front of the main infirmary building in 1858 and the Oxford Eye Hospital was established on the site in 1886.A brief history of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bleeding
Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vagina or anus, or through a puncture in the skin. Hypovolemia is a massive decrease in blood volume, and death by excessive loss of blood is referred to as exsanguination. Typically, a healthy person can endure a loss of 10–15% of the total blood volume without serious medical difficulties (by comparison, blood donation typically takes 8–10% of the donor's blood volume). The stopping or controlling of bleeding is called hemostasis and is an important part of both first aid and surgery. Types * Upper head ** Intracranial hemorrhage – bleeding in the skull. ** Cerebral hemorrhage – a type of intracranial hemorrhage, bleeding within the brain tissue itself. ** Intracerebral hemorrhage – bleeding in the brain caused by the ruptur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coagulation
Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism of coagulation involves activation, adhesion and aggregation of platelets, as well as deposition and maturation of fibrin. Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury to the endothelium lining a blood vessel. Exposure of blood to the subendothelial space initiates two processes: changes in platelets, and the exposure of subendothelial tissue factor to plasma factor VII, which ultimately leads to cross-linked fibrin formation. Platelets immediately form a plug at the site of injury; this is called ''primary hemostasis. Secondary hemostasis'' occurs simultaneously: additional coagulation (clotting) factors beyond factor VII ( listed below) respond in a cascade to form fibrin strands, which strengthen the platelet plug. Disorders of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
