Patrick Small Keir Newbigging

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRSSA The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by David Brewster, Sir David Brewster in 182 ...

FRCSE 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 on ...

(1813–1864) was a Scottish surgeon and general practitioner. He was President of the Royal Medical Society and of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts. Together with his father, Sir William Newbigging he formed one of the few father-son pairs of former Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. His observations on the origin of the heart sounds and of the apex beat of the heart made a significant contribution to the debate.

Early life

The grave of Patrick Newbigging, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born at 18 St Andrew Square in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Stree ...

the son of Lilias Steuart and her husband, the Edinburgh surgeon Sir William Newbigging. 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 ...

. While a student he joined the

Royal Medical Society The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based ...

and gave a dissertation to the Society in 1833 on the origin of heart sounds and pulsations. In this he suggested that the

apex beat The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex, ...

was produced by ventricular

systole Systole ( ) is the part of the cardiac cycle during which some chambers of the heart contract after refilling with blood. The term originates, via New Latin, from Ancient Greek (''sustolē''), from (''sustéllein'' 'to contract'; from ''sun ...

and not

diastole Diastole ( ) is the relaxed phase of the cardiac cycle when the chambers of the heart are re-filling with blood. The contrasting phase is systole when the heart chambers are contracting. Atrial diastole is the relaxing of the atria, and ventric ...

as had been suggested by William Stokes and

Dominic Corrigan Sir Dominic John Corrigan, 1st Baronet (2 December 1802 – 1 February 1880), was an Irish physician, known for his original observations in heart disease. The abnormal "collapsing" pulse of aortic valve insufficiency is named Corrigan's pulse ...

and was the prevalent view at the time.Ed Med J 1864;9:773 He received his doctorate (MD), in 1834, writing his thesis on the same topic, under the title ''On the causes of the impulse and sounds of the heart.'' He became a Fellow 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 ...

in the same year and was elected President of the Royal Medical Society in 1835.

Medical career

Before settling into practice in Edinburgh he made a tour of medical centres in Europe, promoting his ideas on auscultation of the heart. He then joined his father in general practice in Edinburgh and was elected a medical officer to the New Town Dispensary. He was medical officer to

John Watson's Institution The John Watson's Institution was a school established in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1762. The building was designed in the Greek Revival style in 1825 by architect William Burn. Following the closure of the school, the building was left vacated f ...

, to Cauvin's Hospital and was one of the original physicians to the Sick Children's Hospital in Edinburgh. In 1847 he translated the ''Practical Treatise on Auscultation'' written by Jean Baptiste Barth and

Henri-Louis Roger Henri-Louis Roger (6 January 1809 – 15 November 1891) was a French pediatrician born in Paris. He studied medicine in Paris, earning his doctorate in 1839 with a dissertation on auscultation titled ''De l'auscultation et se valeur semiologi ...

Offices held

In 1848 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposer was

William Pulteney Alison William Pulteney Alison FRSE FRCPE FSA (12 November 1790 – 22 September 1859) was a Scottish physician, social reformer and philanthropist. He was a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He served as president ...

. In 1850 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Scottish Society of the Arts The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicated ...

and served as their President from 1861 to 1862. His father, Sir William Newbigging had been President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1814 to 1816. Patrick Newbigging followed in his father's footsteps serving as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1861 to 1863.

Latter years and death

In his final years he lived at 29 Heriot Row in the

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in Edinburgh, facing Queen Street Gardens.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1862-3 He died on 10 January 1864 and is buried with his wife in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

. The grave in section R plot 55 lies against the wall on the south-west spur from the cemetery.

Family

Newbigging was married to Mary Anne Cockburn (1823–1909). They had twin daughters, Eleanor Letitia Newbigging (later Thompson) (1848–1875) and Alice Horsford Newbigging (1848–1911). They had one son, Alexander Cecil Newbigging (1853–1944). His older brother John Steuart Newbigging became a

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

. He was sheriff-clerk of Roxburghshire from 1841 to 1849 and died in office.M H Kaufman ''Sir William Newbigging (1772–1852) and Patrick Newbigging (1813–1864) — Father and Son Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh'' J Med Biog (2004) Volume: 12 issue: 4, page(s): 189-195. https://doi.org/10.1177/096777200401200404 Two other brothers studied medicine. Robert Newbigging, a President of the Royal Medical Society, died in office during the 1832-3 session. George Stewart Newbigging, graduated MD from the University of Edinburgh in 1837 became FRCSE the same year.

References