Christopher Heath FRCS (13 March 1835 – 8 August 1905) was an English

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 it ...

and

general surgeon General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid ...

Life

Born in London on 13 March 1835, he was the son of Christopher Heath, minister in the

Catholic Apostolic Church The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church, is a Christian denomination and Protestant sect which originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States.King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

in May 1845, and after apprenticeship to Nathaniel Davidson of Charles Street, Manchester Square, began his medical studies at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King' ...

, in October 1851. Here he gained the Leathes and Warneford prizes for proficiency in medical subjects and divinity, and was admitted an associate in 1855. From 11 March to 25 September 1855 Heath served as hospital dresser on board HMS ''Imperieuse'', during the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

. He became M.R.C.S. England in 1856, and F.R.C.S. in 1860. He was appointed assistant demonstrator of anatomy at King's College, and served as house surgeon at King's College Hospital to

Sir William Fergusson Sir William Fergusson, 1st Baronet FRCS FRS FRSE (20 March 180810 February 1877) was a Scottish surgeon. Biography William Fergusson son of James Fergusson of Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, was born at Prestonpans, East Lothian on 20 March 1808, ...

from May to November 1857. In 1856 he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy at

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

, where he was made lecturer on anatomy and assistant surgeon in 1862. In 1858 he was consulting surgeon to the St. George and St. James Dispensary; in 1860 he was appointed surgeon to the

West London Hospital The West London Hospital was founded in 1856 as the Fulham and Hammersmith General Dispensary, which was housed in a small 6-roomed building in Queen Street, Hammersmith. It catered for acute conditions and later for geriatric, maternity, rehabili ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, and in 1870 he was surgeon to the Hospital for Women in Soho. Meanwhile, in 1866 he was appointed assistant surgeon and teacher of operative surgery at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

, becoming full surgeon in 1871 on the retirement of

Sir John Eric Erichsen Sir John Eric Erichsen, 1st Baronet (19 July 1818 – 23 September 1896) was a Danish-born British surgeon. Early life Erichsen was born in Copenhagen, the son of Eric Erichsen, a member of a well-known Danish banking family. He attended Mansi ...

, and Holme professor of clinical surgery in 1875. He resigned his hospital appointments in 1900, when he was elected consulting surgeon and emeritus professor of clinical surgery. At the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ar ...

Heath was awarded the Jacksonian prize in 1867 for his essay upon the ''Injuries and Diseases of the Jaws, including those of the Antrum, with the treatment by operation or otherwise''. He was a member of the board of examiners in anatomy and physiology (1875–80), an examiner in surgery (1883–92), and in dental surgery (1888–92), and was member of the council (1881–97). He was Hunterian professor of surgery and pathology (1886-7), Bradshaw lecturer in 1892, and Hunterian orator in 1897, when he chose as his subject "John Hunter considered as a great Surgeon". He succeeded

John Whitaker Hulke John Whitaker Hulke FRCS FRS FGS (6 November 1830 – 19 February 1895) was a British surgeon, geologist and fossil collector. He was the son of a physician in Deal, who became a Huxleyite despite being deeply religious. Hulke became Huxley's ...

as president of the college on 4 April 1895, and was re-elected for a second term. In 1897 Heath visited America to deliver the second course of Lane Medical Lectures recently founded at the Cooper Medical College in San Francisco. During this visit,

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

of Montreal made him hon. LL.D. He was president of the

Clinical Society of London The Clinical Society of London was founded in London in 1868 and merged in 1907 with the Royal Society of Medicine. The founding of the Clinical Society was mainly due to Drs. Edward Headlam Greenhow and John Burdon Sanderson who convened a meeti ...

in 1890-1, a fellow of King's College, London, and an associate fellow of the College of Physicians, Philadelphia. He lived for many years at 36 Cavendish Square, a house which is now rebuilt, and died there on 8 August 1905. He was known as teacher of both anatomy and surgery, and a tough-minded controversialist.

Works

Heath's works, all published in London, were: * ''A Manual of Minor Surgery and Bandaging'', 1861; 12th edit. 1901. * ''Practical Anatomy, a Manual of Dissections'', 1864; 9th edit. 1902; translated into Japanese, Osaka, 1880.
''Injuries and Diseases of the Jaws''
1868; 4th edit. 1894; translated into French, 1884. * ''Essay on the Treatment of Intrathoracic Aneurism by the Distal Ligature'', 1871; re-issue 1898. * ''A Course of Operative Surgery'', 1877 2nd edit. 1884; translated into Japanese, Osaka, 1882. * ''The Student's Guide to Surgical Diagnosis'', 1879; 2nd edit. 1883. Philadelphia, 1879; New York, 1881. * ''Clinical Lectures on Surgical Subjects'', 1891; 2nd edit. 1895; second series 1902. Heath edited the ''Dictionary of Practical Surgery'', in 2 vols. 1886.

Legacy

A marble bas-relief portrait by Hope Pinker commemorated Heath in the hall of the medical school buildings of University College Hospital.

Family

Heath married (1) Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Jasper Peck; and (2) Gabrielle Nora, daughter of Captain Joseph Maynard, R.N., and left a widow, five sons, and one daughter.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Christopher 1835 births 1905 deaths People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of King's College London Fellows of King's College London English surgeons