Herbert Lumley Snow (1847 – 20 November 1930) was an English surgeon, anti-vivisectionist, cancer researcher and medical writer.

Biography

Snow graduated from University of London in 1869 with First Class Honours in Medicine, Forensic Medicine, and Midwifery. He obtained his M.D. and membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1871. He was a surgeon at South Staffordshire General Hospital and Birmingham General Dispensary. He was appointed to the Cancer Hospital in

Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered village made up mostly of market gardens in the county of ...

in 1876. This was the first hospital in the world specifically founded to treat cancer patients. It was renamed the Royal Marsden Hospital in 1910. Snow worked at the Cancer Hospital as a staff surgeon until 1905. He was a cancer researcher who lectured and wrote extensively on the topic. Snow is known for his research on

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

. In 1892, he proposed melanoma to be treated by excision and anticipatory gland excision which was controversial because this was before the acceptance of elective lymph node dissections. In 1893, Snow conducted the first epidemiological study linking cancer and depression. He studied 250 women with uterine and breast cancer. He found that "of 250 women suffering from cancer of the mammae and uterus... 171 had expressed history of an immediate antecedent of trouble often in very poignant form, as the loss of a near relative." In 1896, Snow developed the Brompton cocktail made from a combination of morphine and cocaine to relieve pain in cancer patients."The Brompton Cocktail: 19th century origins to 20th century demise – by David Clark"
University of Glasgow. Retrieved September 9, 2020. He died on 20 November 1930 in

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

Anti-vivisection

Snow was a germ theory denialist,

anti-vaccinationist Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

and opponent of circumcision and vivisection. In 1908, he was appointed surgeon to the National Anti-Vivisection Hospital in Battersea. Snow was chairman of the British Section of the International Medical Anti-Vivisection Association.

Selected publications

''Clinical Notes on Cancer: Its Etiology and Treatment''
(1883)
''The General Theory of Cancer-Formation''
(1889)
''The Barbarity of Circumcision as a Remedy for Congenital Abnormality''
(1890)
''The Proclivity of Women to Cancerous Diseases and to Certain Benign Tumours''
(1891)
''On the Utter Futility of Vivisection as a Means of Promoting Medical Science''
(1908)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Herbert 1847 births 1930 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors 20th-century surgeons Anti-vivisectionists British animal welfare workers British anti-vaccination activists Cancer researchers English medical researchers English medical writers English surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Genital integrity activists Germ theory denialists