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. 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 ...

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