![John James Pringle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/John_James_Pringle.jpeg)
John James Pringle (1855 – 18 December 1922) was a Scottish
dermatologist
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...
.
Biography
Pringle was born in
Borgue,
Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...
and educated at
Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...
. He graduated in medicine from 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 ...
in 1876. He then travelled abroad, studying in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He studying dermatology in Vienna under
Ferdinand von Hebra and
Moriz Kaposi
Moritz Kaposi ( hu, Kaposi Mór, ; 23 October 1837 in Kaposvár, Hungary – 6 March 1902 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary) was a Hungarian physician and dermatologist who discovered the skin tumor that received his name (Kaposi's sarcoma).
Biography
...
, and in Paris under
Jean Baptiste Emile Vidal and
Jean Alfred Fournier
Jean Alfred Fournier () (21 May 1832 – 25 December 1914) was a French dermatologist who specialized in the study of venereal disease.
Biography
As a young man he served as an interne at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to Philippe Rico ...
.
He settled in London in 1882. From 1888 to 1920, he worked as a dermatologist at the
Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
in London. He caught
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
and spent six months of 1903 in a
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
. He never fully recovered and, whilst on a trip intended to improve his health, he died at
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. He is related to
Sir John Pringle.
Adenoma sebaceum
JJ Pringle is primarily remembered for the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
: Pringle's Adenoma Sebaceum. Now known as facial angiofibroma, this papular facial rash, of distinctive butterfly distribution, was first described in English by Pringle. In 1890 he reported in detail the case of a 25-year-old woman, who was not "particularly bright intellectually" and had presented with both skin and digestive complaints. He described the papules in detail, noting the capillary involvement and their fibrous nature. He believed that the sebaceous glands were the source of the problem. Pringle was unfamiliar with the condition so presented his patient to a meeting of the Dermatological Society in 1889-01-09. Two visitors recognized a similarity with models in the Museum of the Saint Louis Hospital in Paris. This led Pringle to become acquainted with five other cases, two previously published, that he includes in his report.
Pringle adopted the term "adenoma sebaceum" from
Félix Balzer
Félix Balzer (4 April 1849 – 15 March 1929) was a French physician, specialising in dermatology and pathology.
Balzer gave an early description of pseudoxanthoma elasticum in 1884. He used the term "''xanthome elastique''" but subsequently it ...
's phrase "''adénomes sébacés''". The papules were in fact neither
adenoma
An adenoma is a benign tumor of epithelial tissue with glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or both. Adenomas can grow from many glandular organs, including the adrenal glands, pituitary gland, thyroid, prostate, and others. Some adenom ...
nor derived from
sebaceous glands
A sebaceous gland is a microscopic exocrine gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which lubricates the hair and skin of mammals. In humans, sebaceous glands occur in the greatest number ...
. Pringle dismisses one report of a hereditary aspect as "dubious". The patients are generally reluctant to submit to treatment, which leads to considerable bleeding and pain.
Several years later, physicians would recognize that the combination of adenoma sebaceum,
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
and learning disability was diagnostic for
tuberous sclerosis
Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multisystem autosomal dominant genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, liver, eyes, lungs and skin. A combination ...
. The three signs are known as
Vogt
During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
's triad. Although Pringle's report does not mention epilepsy, most of the patients are of limited intelligence, and these cases are regarded as early accounts of tuberous sclerosis.
Achievements
* 1891–1895, editor of the ''
British Journal of Dermatology
The ''British Journal of Dermatology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers the field of dermatology. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Association of Dermatologists. The journal was established in 1888 a ...
''.
* 1895–1901, secretary of the Dermatological Society.
* 1896, appointed Secretary General to the International Congress of Dermatology.
* President of the dermatology section of the Royal Society of Medicine
Publications
*
*
See also
*
Timeline of tuberous sclerosis
The history of tuberous sclerosis (TSC) research spans less than 200 years. TSC is a rare, multi-system genetic disease that can cause benign tumours to grow on the brain or other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. A ...
References
*
*
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Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, John James
1855 births
1922 deaths
Burials at Bromley Cemetery
19th-century Scottish medical doctors
20th-century Scottish medical doctors
19th-century Scottish people
Scottish dermatologists
People from Dumfries and Galloway
People educated at Merchiston Castle School
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh