Alan Graham Apley FRCS (10 November 1914, London – 20 December 1996) was a British

orthopaedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

and educator known for his textbook, ''Apley's System of Orthopaedics and Fractures'', and for the Apley grind test in meniscal injury.

Biography

Alan Apley was born in London in 1914, the youngest son of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants.Alan Graham Apley Obituary. ''BMJ'' 1997; 314:981 (29 March)
/ref> He studied medicine at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

, qualifying

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1938. He became a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

in 1941. He served in the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of med ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After completing his training, he became a consultant at the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital, Pyrford, where he started his FRCS course in 1948. The "Pyrford Postgraduate Course", which became known as the "Apley Course", continued twice yearly for many years, with over 5,000 trainees attending them. Satellite courses were also set up in New York City and Toronto, also running for over 15 years. Notes from this course were turned into a textbook, Apley's ''System of Orthopaedics and Fractures'', which was first published in 1959,Seyed Behrooz Mostofi. ''Who's Who in Orthopaedics'', pages 13-15. Springer, 2005. and is now in its ninth edition. He designed the first purpose-built

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

in the south of England at

St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey St Peter's Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, England. It has 400 beds and a wide range of acute care services, including an Accident & Emergency department. It is located between Woking and Chertsey near junction ...

. He became director of orthopaedics at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

in 1972, and was elected to the council of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

in 1973. He was Honorary Treasurer of the British Orthopaedic Association from 1972 to 1977, and received an Honorary Fellowship in 1985. He became editor of ''

The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery ''The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery'' is a biweekly peer reviewed medical journal in the field of orthopedic surgery. It is published by the non-profit corporation The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc. It was established as the ''Transact ...

'' in 1984. He delivered the

Bradshaw Lecture The Bradshaw Lectures are lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and reg ...

at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1984 and was awarded the Honorary Medal of the Royal College of Surgeons. He died in 1996. A trauma care/orthopaedics ward at St Thomas' has been named after him.

Biography

References

See also