Joseph Hodgson (1788–1869) was a British
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and a well-known
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
. He was born in
Penrith,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, the son of a
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
merchant and educated at
King Edward VI School, Birmingham, after which he was apprenticed to
George Freer at
Birmingham General Hospital
Birmingham General Hospital was a teaching hospital in Birmingham, England, founded in 1779 and closed in the mid-1990s.
History Summer Lane
In 1765, a committee for a proposed hospital, formed by John Ash and supported by Sir Lister ...
. He then transferred to
St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Career
He practised at King Street, Cheapside, and was editor of the
London Medical Review. He also served at the
York Military Hospital, Westminster
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
. In 1819 he decided to return to Birmingham and was elected Surgeon to the Birmingham General Hospital in December, 1821. In the autumn of 1823 he organised a campaign for an Eye Infirmary in Birmingham which was successful, the Charity opening for the reception of patients on 13 April 1824. He acted as sole Surgeon until May, 1828, when at his request he was replaced by Richard Middlemore. He was asked in 1840 to become Surgeon to 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 ...
and Professor of Surgery at
King’s College, but declined both offers. In 1849, having made a considerable fortune in Birmingham, chiefly by
lithotomy
Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" (cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), tha ...
, he returned to London. In 1851 he was made president of the
Medical and Chirurgical Society of London
The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London was a learned society of physicians and surgeons which was founded in 1805 by 26 personalities in these fields who had left the Medical Society of London (founded 1773) because of disagreement with th ...
.
[ ]
Publications
He was author of the treatise ''On Wounds and Diseases of Arteries and Veins''. Hodgson is best known for his description of
Hodgson's disease, an
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...
al dilatation of the proximal part of the
aorta
The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...
, often accompanied by dilatation or
hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number.Updated by Linda J ...
of the
heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
.
Death
He died on 7 February 1869, twenty-four hours after his wife, and left one daughter. He was buried at
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
References
* Plarr VG. Past presidents: Joseph Hodgson. ''Ann R Coll Surg Engl''. 1950 Aug;7(2):170-2.
* Bedford D. The surgeon cardiologists of the 19th century (Allan Burns, Joseph Hodgson, Robert Adams, James Wardrop, O'Bryen Bellingham). ''Br Heart J.'' 1967 Jul;29(4):461-8.
External links
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online: Hodgson, Joseph (1788 - 1869)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Joseph
1788 births
1869 deaths
19th-century English medical doctors
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
English Quakers
19th-century Quakers