James Douglas (21 March 1675 – 2 April 1742) was a Scottish physician and anatomist, and Physician Extraordinary to Queen Caroline.

Life and works

One of the seven sons of William Douglas (died 1705) and his wife, Joan, daughter of James Mason of Park, Blantyre, he was born in West Calder,

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the A ...

, in 1675. His brother was the lithotomist John Douglas (died 1759). In 1694 he graduated MA from 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 1 ...

and then took his medical doctorate at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

before going to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1700. He worked as an obstetrician, and gaining a great reputation as a physician, was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of London Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1706, FCP in 1721. One of the most respected anatomists in the country, Douglas was also a well-known man-midwife. He was asked to investigate the case of

Mary Toft Mary Toft (née Denyer; c. 1701–1763), also spelled Tofts, was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits. I ...

, an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits. Despite his early scepticism (Douglas thought that a woman giving birth to rabbits was as likely as a rabbit giving birth to a human child), Douglas went to see Toft, and subsequently exposed her as a fraud. Douglas practiced midwifery and performed public dissections at home. Douglas mentored and befriended anatomist and surgeon William Hunter (1718–1783), whom he met in 1740 when Hunter came to London. Hunter would live in the Douglas household and remained there after Douglas died in London on 2 April 1742, leaving a widow and two children. Douglas produced a series of manuscript English, French, Latin and Greek

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...

s, and an ample index to the works of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. ''A Treatise on English Pronunciation by James Douglas'' (1914) was edited by Anna Paues. Another edition was due to Börje Holmberg (Lund, 1956).''James Douglas on English Pronunciation, c. 1740''; n edition of the Hunterian Museum manuscript no. 586 edited, with an introduction and commentary, by Börje Holmberg; a thesis.Lund: Gleerup, 1956 He undertook botanical studies, notably his monograph on the Guernsey Lily.

Terminology

As a result of Douglas's investigations of female pelvic anatomy, several anatomical terms bear his name: ; Douglas pouch :Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the

peritoneum The peritoneum is the serous membrane forming the lining of the abdominal cavity or coelom in amniotes and some invertebrates, such as annelids. It covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs, and is composed of a layer of mes ...

. ; Douglasitis :Inflammation of Douglas pouch. ; Douglas abscess :Suppuration in Douglas pouch, most often seen in

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

or adnexitis. ; Douglas fold :A fold of peritoneum forming the lateral boundary of Douglas pouch. ;

Douglas line The arcuate line of rectus sheath, the , the arcuate line, or the semicircular line of Douglas, is a horizontal line that demarcates the lower limit of the posterior layer of the rectus sheath. It is commonly known simply as the arcuate line. It ...

:The arcuate line of the sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle. ; Douglas septum :The

septum In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interat ...

formed by the union of Rathke's folds, forming the

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the sigmoid colon) at the l ...

of the

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...

Footnotes

External links

Who Named It? (James Douglas)Papers and Drawings of James Douglas, Glasgow University Library archivesDouglas papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, James 1675 births 1742 deaths People from West Lothian Scottish anatomists Reims University (1548–1793) alumni Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish obstetricians Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish midwives Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England People from West Calder