Thomas Wilkinson King (1809 – 26 March 1847) was an English

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. He has been called "the father of

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

" because of a landmark paper he wrote about the

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...

gland while working at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

Early life and education

King was born in 1809 and was educated in London and Paris. He became a doctor like his father, who practised in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, and began training at

as a teenager in 1824. He was appointed curator of the Guy's Hospital museum, a position previously held by

Thomas Hodgkin Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, ...

, in 1837, and three years later became a lecturer in

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

and

comparative physiology Comparative physiology is a List of academic disciplines, subdiscipline of physiology that studies and exploits the diversity of functional characteristics of various kinds of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary physiology and environ ...

. He also lectured in

anatomical pathology Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...

and wrote prolifically in the ''Guy's Hospital Reports'', particularly about cancer.

Career

King has been called "the father of

" because of an important paper he wrote about the

gland, where he proposed the concept of internal secretion of

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

s into the bloodstream. The paper was published in the ''Guy's Hospital Reports'' in 1836, and fell into obscurity until it was discussed by Sir

Humphry Rolleston Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston, 1st Baronet, (21 June 1862 – 23 September 1944) was a prominent English physician. Rolleston was the son of George Rolleston (Linacre Professor of Physiology at Oxford) and Grace Davy, daughter of John Davy an ...

at the

Fitzpatrick Lecture The Fitzpatrick Lecture is given annually at the Royal College of Physicians on a subject related to history of medicine. The lecturer, who must be a fellow of the College, is selected by the president and may be chosen to speak for two years suc ...

in 1933. His paper described in detail the anatomy of the thyroid gland and theorised that, because of the thyroid's significant vascular supply and "peculiar" fluid, the blood vessels transported the thyroid's secretions throughout the body. He also proposed that the levels of thyroid secretions would vary during the day since the gland was subjected to periodic compression during chewing and movement of the nearby

oesophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal inlet is about ...

and neck muscles.

Later life and death

King was one of the original Fellows of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

upon its establishment in December 1843. At that time, he was living and practising at 36

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

in London. He died of

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 ...

in 1847.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Thomas Wilkinson 1809 births 1847 deaths English anatomists English pathologists 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Physicians of Guy's Hospital Tuberculosis deaths in England