DUBLIN(1837) p049 THE COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

Richard Dease ( – 21 February 1819) Cameron, Sir Charles A. (1886
''History of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and of the Irish Schools of Medicine &c''
Dublin: Fannin & Co. pp. 343–344. was the president of 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 ...

(RCSI) in 1809.RCSI Presidents since its foundation in 1784.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2018. Richard Dease was born in Dublin about the year 1774. His father was

William Dease William Dease (1752?–1798) was an Irish surgeon and anatomist. He was one of the founders of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and its first Professor of Surgery. He studied surgery in Dublin and Paris and was appointed surgeon to the Un ...

, the eminent surgeon, one of the founders of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Dease was educated in

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, and graduated with a BA in 1794. Having been indentured to his father on 1 September 1790, he prosecuted his medical studies in the RCSI and the Meath Hospital. He also spent some time in the London hospitals and 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 ...

, in which he graduated with an MD On 3 September 1795, he obtained the Letters Testimonial of RCSI and in the same year succeeded Israel Read as Surgeon to the Meath Hospital. On 12 September, and only nine days after passing as a licentiate, he was elected a member of the College, and on the death of his father he succeeded him in the Chairs of Anatomy and Surgery in the College School. Dease was a thoroughly educated man, an accomplished anatomist, and a skilful surgeon. On Saturday, 13 February 1819, Dease was lecturing to his class on the

cervical nerves A spinal nerve is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. In the human body there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column. These are grouped into the ...

and

brachial plexus The brachial plexus is a network () of nerves formed by the anterior rami of the lower four cervical nerves and first thoracic nerve ( C5, C6, C7, C8, and T1). This plexus extends from the spinal cord, through the cervicoaxillary canal in th ...

. The subject was a woman who had been dead less than 48 hours, and who had died from a pulmonary affection. He appears to have had his skin slightly abraded during the demonstration. The next morning he awoke early ill, having violent shivering and a sick stomach. He soon developed the most severe symptoms of blood poisoning, and died on 21 February, in the house in Sackville Street which he had inherited from his father.

See also