Edward Cock (1805–1892) was a British surgeon. He published multiple academic papers, including a description of a novel approach to surgery of the

urethra The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

. He served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Early life

Cock was a nephew of Sir

Astley Cooper Sir Astley Paston Cooper, 1st Baronet (23 August 176812 February 1841) was a British surgeon and anatomist, who made contributions to otology, vascular surgery, the anatomy and pathology of the mammary glands and testicles, and the pathology ...

, and through him became at an early age a member of the staff of the Borough Hospital in London, where he worked in the dissecting room for 13 years.

Career

Afterwards he became in 1838 assistant surgeon at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, where from 1849 to 1871 he was surgeon, and from 1871 to 1892 consulting surgeon. He rose to be president of 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 ...

in 1869. He was an excellent

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

, a bold operator, and a clear and incisive writer, and though in lecturing he spoke with a

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...

, he frequently used it with humorous effect and emphasis. From 1843 to 1849, Cock was editor of ''Guy's Hospital Reports'', which contain many of his papers, particularly on urethral stenosis, puncture of the

bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...

, injuries to the head, and

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

. He was the first English surgeon to perform pharyngotomy with success, and also one of the first to succeed in

trephining Trepanning, also known as trepanation, trephination, trephining or making a burr hole (the verb ''trepan'' derives from Old French from -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, t ...

for middle meningeal haemorrhage, but the operation by which his name is known is that of opening the urethra through the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

, described in 1866.

Death

He died at

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cock, Edward 1805 births 1892 deaths 19th-century British surgeons Physicians of Guy's Hospital