Sir Andrew Watt Kay (14 August 1914 – 1 February 2011)

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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, FRCPSG, FRCSEd was a Scottish academic surgeon who was Regius Professor of Surgery at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

from 1964 to 1981. He developed the augmented histamine test, which bore his name, and was widely used in the investigation and treatment of

peptic ulcer disease Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

. He was knighted for services to surgery. From 1972 to 1974 he served as president of the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is a global community of over 15,000 Members working together to develop skills, knowledge and leadership to drive the highest standards in healthcare. For 425 years, the Royal College of ...

Early life

Andrew Watt Kay was born on 14 August 1914 in Newton-On-Ayr, Scotland. Both his parents were pharmacists in Ayr. He was educated at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayr ...

, and was dux of the school, going on to study medicine at the

where he graduated MB ChB with honours in 1939. He was awarded the Brunton Memorial Prize as the most distinguished graduate in medicine for that year.

Early career

He worked as house surgeon at the Western Infirmary,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

under A. J. Hutton. From 1942 he worked as assistant to the Regius Professor of Surgery, Professor Sir Charles Illingworth. As a result of research carried out in Illingworth's department he went on in 1944 to gain the degree of MD for which he was awarded the Bellahouston Gold Medal. In 1949 he was awarded a second higher degree ChM (Master of Surgery). He undertook military service in 1946 in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

(RAMC). He was given charge of the RAMC's surgical department at Queen Alexandra Military Hospital, Millbank, London.

Research into gastric acid

After the war Kay returned to a surgical post at the Western Infirmary, and began research into the cause of

which was a major clinical problem in Western societies. He studied the secretion of

gastric acid Gastric acid or stomach acid is the acidic component – hydrochloric acid – of gastric juice, produced by parietal cells in the gastric glands of the stomach lining. In humans, the pH is between one and three, much lower than most other a ...

, thought at that time to be the most important factor in the development of duodenal ulcers. Kay used increasing doses of

histamine Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses communication, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Discovered in 19 ...

to stimulate acid production and found that acid production was higher in patients with duodenal ulcer than in healthy controls. This test became known as Kay's augmented histamine test. It became widely used in the investigation and management of peptic ulcers. His paper describing this test, ''Effect of Large Doses of Histamine on Gastric Secretion of HCl'', became the single most cited paper in the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' between 1945 and 1989. Before the test each subject was given an

antihistamine Antihistamines are drugs which treat allergic rhinitis, common cold, influenza, and other allergies. Typically, people take antihistamines as an inexpensive, generic (not patented) drug that can be bought without a prescription and provides ...

which blocked all of the effects of histamine apart from its effect on gastric acid secretion. This observation formed the basis for the work of Sir James Black in developing drugs which selectively blocked the effect of histamine in stimulating gastric acid production. These became known as

H2 receptor antagonists H2 antagonists, sometimes referred to as H2RAs and also called H2 blockers, are a class of pharmaceutical drug, medications that block the action of histamine at the histamine H2 receptor, histamine H2 receptors of the parietal cells in the stoma ...

Later career

He became consultant surgeon in charge of wards at the Western Infirmary in 1956 and two years later was appointed to the chair of surgery at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

. Kay left his post in 1964 to become the

Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...

of Surgery at the University of Glasgow. He remained in this post until he retired in 1981. His ''Textbook of Surgical Physiology,'' written jointly with R. A. Jamieson, was first published in 1958 and ran to four editions, the last published in 1988.

Honours and awards

In 1970 he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh. In 1971 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

. He was president of the

from 1972 to 1974. In 1973 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for his services to surgery. From 1973 to 1981, he served part-time as chief scientist at the Scottish Home and Health Department.

Family and later life

He married Janetta Roxburgh in 1943. They had four children. After her death in 1990, he married Phyllis Gilles in 1992. Kay died in Paisley in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Andrew Watt 1914 births 2011 deaths People from Ayr People educated at Ayr Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish surgeons Royal Army Medical Corps officers Academics of the University of Glasgow Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Sheffield Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh