Ian Wesley Whimster MRCPath (3 September 1923 – 18 January 1979) was a reader of dermatology histopathology at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

, London. He gained international recognition for his study of

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

and experiments with reptiles, particularly observing their colour patterns in relation to their nerve supply. He was part of the medical student team that went into

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...

in 1945, after it was liberated by British troops. On return, he made numerous contributions to dermatology, including the definition of

keratoacanthoma Keratoacanthoma (KA) is a common low-grade (unlikely to metastasize or invade) rapidly-growing skin tumour that is believed to originate from the hair follicle (pilosebaceous unit) and can resemble squamous cell carcinoma. The defining characteris ...

, the distinction between

pemphigus Pemphigus ( or ) is a rare group of blistering autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes. The name is derived from the Greek root ''pemphix'', meaning "pustule". In pemphigus, autoantibodies form against desmoglein, whi ...

and

pemphigoid Pemphigoid is a group of rare autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin, and mucous membranes. As its name indicates, pemphigoid is similar in general appearance to pemphigus, but, unlike pemphigus, pemphigoid does not feature acantholysis, a l ...

and descriptions of

melanocytes Melanocytes are melanin-producing neural crest-derived cells located in the bottom layer (the stratum basale) of the skin's epidermis, the middle layer of the eye (the uvea), the inner ear, vaginal epithelium, meninges, bones, and heart. ...

and

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

. He died in a road traffic accident at the age of 55.

Early life

Ian Whimster was born in 1923. He was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

, followed by

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, before gaining admission to St Thomas' Hospital medical school and then completing his MB in 1946. His early appointments were at St Thomas's where he also developed his interest in dermatology.

Career

During his junior years, Whimster was part of the medical student team that went into

in 1945, after it was liberated by British troops. With the encouragement and support from Geoffrey Dowling, he developed an interest in the skin and Whimster soon became closely associated with

Arthur Rook Arthur Rook may refer to: * Arthur Rook (equestrian) (1921–1989), English equestrian and Olympic champion * Arthur Rook (dermatologist) (1918–1991), British dermatologist and author See also * Arthur Rooke (fl. 1910s–1920s), British a ...

, working on the histopathology of keratoacanthoma and the distinction between the bullous diseases pemphigoid and pemphigus. Whimster gained international recognition for his work on comparative anatomy and experiments with reptiles, particularly observing their colour patterns in relation to their nerve supply."Tribute to Ian Whimster"
by Hugh Wallace, ''

The American Journal of Dermatopathology The International Society of Dermatopathology is a non-profit, international society for the discipline of dermatopathology Dermatopathology (from Greek , ''derma'' 'skin' + , ''pathos'' 'fate, harm' + , ''-logia'' 'study of') is a joint subspeci ...

'', 1985, Vol. 7, pp. A7-A8. His observations on humans and reptiles formed the basis of his classic papers on spottiness. He became adept at breeding small reptiles for his experiments and devoted to their care. His statement that "some invisible intersegmental boundaries, whose existence we have been taught to expect by comparative anatomy and embryology, are only revealed by disease" stemmed from Whimster's interest in the causes of linear or sharply demarcated rashes unexplained by external stimuli. Whimster's observations in the 1950s, of increased

capillary A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...

loops next to a

venous ulcer Venous ulcer is defined by the American Venous Forum as "a full-thickness defect of skin, most frequently in the ankle region, that fails to heal spontaneously and is sustained by chronic venous disease, based on venous duplex ultrasound testing." ...

, as examined under the microscope, later facilitated the correlation between

venous hypertension Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a medical condition in which blood pools in the veins, straining the walls of the vein. The most common cause of CVI is superficial venous reflux which is a treatable condition. As functional venous valves are ...

and venous ulceration. Whimster was also a leading authority on the

melanocyte Melanocytes are melanin-producing neural crest-derived cells located in the bottom layer (the stratum basale) of the skin's epidermis, the middle layer of the eye (the uvea), the inner ear, vaginal epithelium, meninges, bones, and heart. ...

and an expert in

. In addition, he collaborated with Hugh Wallace and studied

vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external sex organ, female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, bulb of vestibu ...

leukoplakia Oral leukoplakia is a ''potentially malignant disorder'' affecting the oral mucosa. It is defined as "essentially an oral mucosal white lesion that cannot be considered as any other definable lesion." Oral leukoplakia is a white patch or plaque th ...

. Whimster often suffered from severe depression which caused his research to stall. One of his obituary writers commented on the lasting impression that his experience at Belsen had left on him.

Death and legacy

Whimster died in a road traffic accident on 18 January 1979 at the age of 55. Since 1984, the

British Association of Dermatologists The British Association of Dermatologists is a charity established in 1920 whose charitable objects are the practice, teaching, training, and research of dermatology. It produces the ''British Journal of Dermatology The ''British Journal of De ...

has awarded the Whimster prize, which is presented every three years.

Selected publications

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Early life

Career

Death and legacy

Selected publications

References

Further reading