The grave of Dr James Spence, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

James Spence FRSE FRCSEd (1812-1882) was a Scottish surgeon. He served as President of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

1867/68.

Life

He was born on 31 March 1812 at 12 South Bridge in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, the son of James Spence, a perfumer, and his third wife. He was educated at a boarding-school in Galashiels and afterwards at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, but left to be apprenticed to Messrs. Scott & Orr, a firm of Edinburgh chemists, at 100 South Bridge. He managed, however, to complete his medical education in the

Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine Extramural medical education in Edinburgh began over 200 years before the university medical faculty was founded in 1726 and extramural teaching continued thereafter for a further 200 years. Extramural is academic education which is conducted o ...

and in 1832 received the diploma of Licentiate of the

. On qualifying he made two voyages to Calcutta in 1833 as surgeon to an East Indiaman, but returned to Edinburgh to teach anatomy for 7 years as the university demonstrator under Professor Alexander Monro tertius. He then joined the extramural school of anatomy to act as demonstrator where he took part in the lecture-room course of demonstrations on regional anatomy, as well as in the dissecting-room teaching. He left the dissecting-room in 1846 to give lectures on surgery. In 1849, on becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, he lectured systematically on surgery, first at number one Surgeons' Square and then at the Extramural School of Medicine at Surgeons' Hall. He became assistant surgeon at

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

in 1850, full surgeon in 1854 and clinical lecturer in 1856. As professor of surgery, he was surgeon at the Infirmary until his death. In 1869

Byrom Bramwell Sir Byrom Bramwell FRSE FRCPE LLD (18 December 1847 – 27 April 1931) was an eminent British physician and medical author. He was a general physician, but became known for his work in neurology, diseases of the heart and blood, and disorders of ...

served under Spence as his house surgeon at the Infirmary. In 1864, he was given the chair of systematic surgery as Professor of Surgical Science at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

in place of Prof James Miller In 1865 he was appointed Surgeon in Ordinary to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

in Scotland and in 1867 was elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for 2 years. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1866 his proposer being Sir David Brewster. He died at home, 21 Ainslie Place on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Back ...

in western Edinburgh on 6 June 1882. He was buried in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

, Edinburgh. The graves lies in the main south-west section facing onto the south path. His wife and children lie with him.

Publications

He published ''Lectures on Surgery'' in 1871.

Family

In 1847 married Margaret Fair (1825-1905), the daughter of Thomas Fair of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, joint founder of St John's Anglican Church in that city, with whom he had six sons and three daughters. These included John George Spence (1854-1870), Helen Mary Spence (died an infant), Margaret Sarah Spence (d.1927), Thomas Fair Hetherington Spence, a physician (1851-1928), James Edward Kendall Spence (died at sea 1893), and Hamilton Robert Spence (d.1936).

Scientific recognition

The

Tail of Spence The tail of Spence (Spence's tail, axillary process, axillary tail) has historically been described as an extension of the tissue of the upper outer quadrant of the breast traveling into the axilla. The "axillary tail" has been reported to pass in ...

, an extension of the tissue of the

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

that extends into the

axilla The axilla (also, armpit, underarm or oxter) is the area on the human body directly under the shoulder joint. It includes the axillary space, an anatomical space within the shoulder girdle between the arm and the thoracic cage, bounded superior ...

, is named after him.

Artistic recognition

He was photographed by

Hill & Adamson Hill & Adamson was the first photography studio in Scotland, set up by painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson in 1843. During their brief partnership that ended with Adamson's untimely death, Hill & Adamson produced "the first s ...

around 1850.

References