John Wharry Dundee

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, (born 1921) was an anaesthetist and prolific medical researcher from

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,953 according to the 2011 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It sits on the river Six Mile Water. The town ...

, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Biography

Early life

Dundee was born the eldest son of a farmer, near

, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He was educated at

Ballyclare High School Ballyclare High School is a co-educational, non-denominational grammar school in Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. There are approximately 1,200 pupils at the school, taught by around 80 teachers. History The school was opened in th ...

, studied medicine at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, and undertook postgraduate studies at Liverpool, Oxford and Philadelphia. He graduated with a PhD from

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1957.

Career highlights

Dundee founded the Department of Anaesthetics at

in 1958. He was appointed Professor of Anaesthetics there in 1964—a post he held until his retirement in 1987. He worked as an anaesthetist in the Royal Victoria Hospital of Belfast, was a Fellow of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons, and was Dean of the Faculty of Anaesthetists at the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

. He presented the Joseph Clover Lecture in 1988. A frequent international traveller, Dundee developed a great interest in acupuncture. One of his most notable achievements was the discovery that appropriate use of

acupressure Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique often used in conjunction with acupuncture or reflexology. It is based on the concept of life energy, which flows through "meridians" in the body. In treatment, physical pressure is applied to ac ...

can provide relief of

morning sickness Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a symptom of pregnancy that involves nausea or vomiting. Despite the name, nausea or vomiting can occur at any time during the day. Typically the symptoms occur between th ...

in pregnant women. His 1988 report on this work, published in the ''

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to 1809. Since July ...

'', demonstrates significant reduction of nausea and vomiting in a controlled trial. Dundee originated many anaesthetic techniques which remain in use, and his extensive writings on the subject continue to be consulted. He was a principal researcher of the human and veterinary anaesthetic

ketamine Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppresses ne ...

and assisted in the development of intravenous anaesthesia. He also assisted with the development of cyclomorph, a preparation combining

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

and

cyclizine Cyclizine, sold under a number of brand names, is a medication used to treat and prevent nausea, vomiting and dizziness due to motion sickness or vertigo. It may also be used for nausea after general anaesthesia or that which developed from opio ...

. His "service to medicine in Northern Ireland" was acknowledged by the award of the Order of the British Empire in the 1989

New Year's Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. That year, he was also the first anaesthetist to be elected President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. After his retirement, he was appointed Professor Emeritus and continued to undertake research into acupressure as an anti-emetic until his death, work which was sponsored by the Friends of Montgomery House, Belfast. Besides receiving international awards and accolades in medicine, Dundee also held an internationally prestigious musical qualification (Associate of

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

(ATCL). As a medical student, he had been an organist at Raloo Church near

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

. He continued to play the instrument in later life at church services throughout Northern Ireland, and he also sang in the choir at Windsor

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. At various times, he was superintendent of Windsor Mission and a member of the board of Belfast City Mission. From 1985 to 1987, he was President of the Christian Medical Fellowship of UK and Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundee, John Wharry 1921 births 1991 deaths Academics of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of the University of Liverpool British anaesthetists Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Ballyclare Anaesthetists from Northern Ireland People educated at Ballyclare High School Medical doctors from County Antrim