Timothy Richards Lewis (31 October 1841 – 7 May 1886) was a Welsh surgeon and

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 ...

who worked in India on several aspects of tropical medicine. He worked during the early period when the role of pathogenic organisms in disease were beginning to triumph over the older

miasma theory The miasma theory (also called the miasmatic theory) is an obsolete medical theory that held that diseases—such as cholera, chlamydia, or the Black Death—were caused by a ''miasma'' (, Ancient Greek for 'pollution'), a noxious form of "bad ...

. He was one of the first to identify the role of nematode worms in filariasis. His studies include those on

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

trypanosoma ''Trypanosoma'' is a genus of kinetoplastids (class Trypanosomatidae), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma is part of the phylum Sarcomastigophora. The name is derived from the Greek ''trypano-'' (bore ...

, and fungal infections. Lewis was born at Llanboidy,

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

to William Lewis and Britania née Richards and he grew up on the family farm at Pembrokeshire. After studying at Narberth National School the grammar school run by Joseph and William Edward Morris he apprenticed to a Narberth chemist. He moved to London when he was nineteen and worked as a chemist in Streatham and later at the German Hospital where he picked up the German language. He also attended lectures at the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, received a Fellowes silver medal in 1866 and qualified from

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in 1867. In 1868 he joined the army service at Netley and rose to the position of a surgeon-major. He worked for three months at Munich with

Max von Pettenkofer Max Joseph Pettenkofer, ennobled in 1883 as Max Joseph von Pettenkofer (3 December 1818 – 10 February 1901) was a Bavarian chemist and hygienist. He is known for his work in practical hygiene, as an apostle of good water, fresh air and proper s ...

and then was posted to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 1869. In Calcutta he worked with

David Douglas Cunningham David Douglas Cunningham (29 September 1843 – 31 December 1914) was a Scottish doctor and researcher who worked extensively in India on various aspects of public health and medicine. He studied the spread of bacteria and the spores of fungi t ...

. Pettenkofer had suggested that soil conditions helped in cholera outbreaks while

Ernst Hallier Ernst Hallier (15 November 1831, in Hamburg – 19 December 1904, in Dachau) was a German botanist and mycologist. As a young man he was trained as a gardener, later studying botany at the universities of Berlin, Jena and Göttingen. From 1858 he s ...

of Jena had suggested that it was caused by a fungus. Lewis tried to examine these hypotheses making studies of meteorological conditions and examining the stools of infected patients. A study with Cunningham was made on fungal skin infections. While making studies of

chyluria Chyluria, also called chylous urine, is a medical condition involving the presence of chyle in the urine stream, which results in urine appearing milky white. The condition is usually classified as being either parasitic or non parasitic. It is a c ...

, he noticed worms in the urine of a patient which was later found to be filaria and were independently discovered and described by

Joseph Bancroft Joseph Bancroft (21 February 1836 – 16 June 1894) was a surgeon, pharmacologist and parasitologist born in England, who emigrated to Queensland, Australia. Early life Bancroft was born in Stretford, near Manchester, Lancashire, the only son of ...

. Lewis examined microscopic organisms in the blood of birds and mammals, and named several species of microbes including a trypanosome, ''

Trypanosoma lewisi ''Trypanosoma lewisi'' is a globally distributed parasite of ''Rattus'' species and other rodents such as mice, and of kangaroo rats in America. Among these host species were two endemic species of rats: '' Rattus macleari'' and '' Rattus nativit ...

'', from a rat. He married Emily Frances née Brown on 8 October 1879. In 1883 he returned to England and worked as a Professor of Pathology at

Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Ro ...

. In 1885 he served as honorary secretary of a committee to study Koch's discovery of cholera. Lewis and his committee members (

Heneage Gibbes Heneage Gibbes (1837 – July 18, 1912) was a British pathologist known for his histological studies. He moved to the United States where he served as a professor of pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Gibbes was born in Berrow, ...

and Emanuel Klein) submitted an official refutation of Koch's study which may have involved not just science but the position of government officials (such as Sir

Joseph Fayrer Sir Joseph Fayrer, 1st Baronet FRS FRSE FRCS FRCP KCSI LLD (6 December 1824 – 21 May 1907) was a British physician who served as Surgeon General in India. He is noted for his writings on medicine, work on public health and his studies par ...

and J.M. Cuningham), several of whom opposed the contagion theory which would lead the implementation of quarantine regulations that would come greatly in the way of trade and movement. He died on 7 May 1886 of pneumonia, suspected to have been contracted in a laboratory accident. He is one of twenty three whose names are included in a frieze at the entrance of the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

Publications

(1888) Physiological and pathological researches; being a reprint of the principal scientific writings of the late T. R. Lewis. In memoriam. Arranged and ed. by Sir William Aitken, G. E. Dobson, and A. E. Brown

Lewis, T.R. and D.D. Cunningham (1877) Leprosy in India

Lewis, T.R. and D.D. Cunningham (1877) The 'Oriental Sore,' as observed in India.

Lewis, T.R. and D.D. Cunningham (1875) The soil in its relationto disease. A report of observations.

Lewis, T.R. (1874) The pathological significance of nematode haematozoa. Calcutta: Government Press.

Lewis, T.R. and D.D. Cunningham (1874) A report of microscopical and physiological researches into the nature of the agent or agents producing cholera.

Lewis, T.R. (1870) A report on the microscopic objects found in Cholera evacuations, &c.

References

External links

Netley Military Cemetery

Dictionary of Welsh Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Timothy Richards British pathologists 1841 births 1886 deaths