John Smyth Macdonald
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John Smyth Macdonald FRS (1867, Dublin – 29 March 1941) was a British physiologist.


Early life and education

Macdonald was born in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland, in 1867 to George Macdonald, a tailor, and his wife, Margaret, née Smyth. The family soon moved to
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
and subsequently to
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
in England, where he was educated at the King's School for Boys. In 1886, he went to
Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...
, where he studied mathematics, graduating with a third-class B.A. degree in 1889. From 1889 to 1891 he studied medicine at
University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...
, Liverpool. In 1897 he qualified L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S. by passing the Scottish Conjoint Board Examination.


Career

In 1891, Macdonald was appointed the Holt Fellow in Physiology at University College, Liverpool, where he did research under
Francis Gotch Francis Gotch (13 July 1853 – 15 July 1913) was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University. He was educated at Amersham Hall School and then at London University graduat ...
from 1891 to 1897. After gaining his medical qualifications, he served as house physician at the
Liverpool Royal Infirmary The Liverpool Royal Infirmary was a hospital in Pembroke Place in Liverpool, England. The building is now used by the University of Liverpool. History The infirmary has its origins in a small building on Shaw's Brow which was opened by the 11th ...
for about six months in 1897, under James Barr. From 1897 to 1899, he was a lecturer in physiology at University College, Dundee under Waymouth Reid. In 1899, he returned to University College, Liverpool (from 1903, the
University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
), as senior lecturer in physiology (1899–1903), with a
British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...
research scholarship (1899–1901), under
Charles Scott Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was a British neurophysiology, neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a ...
. From 1903 to 1914, Macdonald held the Chair in Physiology at the University College, Sheffield. In 1906–1907, he additionally served as the acting Dean of the Medical Faculty, during the period when the college became
Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...
. At Sheffield he planned the physiology department, which was at that date one of the leading facilities in the subject in England. In 1914, he returned to the University of Liverpool, succeeding Sherrington as the Holt Professor of Physiology, where he remained until his retirement in 1932. He also served as the Dean of the Medical Faculty (1917–20).


Research

Macdonald's early work was on
nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...
s, initially in collaboration with first Francis Gotch and then Waymouth Reid. W. J. O'Connor states: He continued to research this topic at Liverpool, publishing a series of papers in the ''
Journal of Physiology ''The Journal of Physiology'' is a semi-monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1878 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Physiological Society. It covers research on all aspects of physiology, with an emp ...
'' and the ''
Proceedings of the Royal Society ''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life s ...
''. He studied nerve electrical currents, potassium and chloride ions, among other topics. In around 1908, he began to research the mechanism of
contraction Contraction may refer to: Linguistics * Contraction (grammar), a shortened word * Poetic contraction, omission of letters for poetic reasons * Elision, omission of sounds ** Syncope (phonology), omission of sounds in a word * Synalepha, merged ...
in
striated muscle Striated muscle tissue is a muscle tissue that features repeating functional units called sarcomeres. Under the microscope, sarcomeres are visible along muscle fibers, giving a striated appearance to the tissue. The two types of striated muscle a ...
, publishing an influential paper on the topic in the '' Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology''. In around 1912, his attention turned to the problem of measuring muscular work in humans. He built a human
calorimeter A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, or the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal micro calorimeters, titration calorimeters ...
, now in the Wellcome Medical Museum, with which he studied how the heat produced was related to factors such as the intensity of exercise and the subject's weight. With F. A. Duffield, he also studied respiratory gas exchange.


Awards and honours

He was a member of the
Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an international learned society for physiologists with headquarters in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit ...
from 1894. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1917.


Personal life

Macdonald married Katherine Mary Stewart, who was from Stornaway, in 1898. The couple had eight children, three sons and five daughters. One of his daughters, Margaret S. Macdonald (Margaret Munday), collaborated with Macdonald at the end of his career. Another son,
George Macdonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carrol ...
, was an eminent malariologist. After his retirement, he lived with his son in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
and at
Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan (, ), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a former spa town in the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on th ...
in Stirlingshire, Scotland. He died at Bridge of Allan in 1941.


Selected publications

* *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, John Smyth 1867 births 1941 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge British physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of the University of Sheffield People educated at The King's School, Chester Academics of the University of Liverpool