David Bayford, FRS (c.1739 – 1790) was a London surgeon, who practised from 1761 to 1782. In later years of his life he practised as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Career

He was born in Hertfordshire and educated as a surgeon. He became a member of the Corporation of Surgeons, and practised as such for some years at Lewes, Sussex. In 1761, while still an apprentice surgeon, he made his discovery of the unique and bizarre cause—compression of the oesophagus by an aberrant right subclavian artery—of a fatal case of ''obstructed deglutition'' for which he coined the term

dysphagia lusoria Dysphagia lusoria (or Bayford-Autenrieth dysphagia) is an abnormal condition characterized by difficulty in swallowing caused by an aberrant right subclavian artery. It was discovered by David Bayford in 1761 and first reported in a paper by the s ...

and for which he is eponymously remembered. This discovery remained unrecorded until 1787, when a paper describing the case was read on his behalf before the

Medical Society of London The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthro ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society 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 mathematic ...

in 1770, when he was described as a ''Professor of Anatomy at Surgeon's Hall; and many years Lecturer in that Science and the Operations of Surgery''. He was created MD by

Frederick Cornwallis Frederick Cornwallis (5 March 1713 – 19 March 1783) served as Archbishop of Canterbury, after an illustrious career in the Anglican Church. He was born the seventh son of an aristocratic family. His twin brother Edward Cornwallis had a mili ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1782. Later disbarred as a surgeon, he was admitted a Licentiate of the

College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine. {{Expand list, date=February 2011 Such institutions include: * American College of Physicians * Ceylon College of Physicians * College of Phy ...

in 1787.

References

1739 births 1790 deaths English surgeons 18th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society {{England-med-bio-stub