Joseph Hodgson (1788 – 7 February 1869) was a British

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and a well-known

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. He was born in Penrith,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, the son of a Birmingham merchant and educated at King Edward VI School, Birmingham, after which he was apprenticed to George Freer at

Birmingham General Hospital Birmingham General Hospital was a teaching hospital in Birmingham, England, founded in 1779 and closed in the mid-1990s. History Summer Lane In 1765, a committee for a proposed hospital, formed by John Ash (physician), John Ash and suppo ...

. He then transferred to

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Ra ...

, London.

Career

He practised at King Street, Cheapside, and was editor of the London Medical Review. He also served at the York Military Hospital, Westminster. In 1819 he decided to return to Birmingham and was elected Surgeon to the Birmingham General Hospital in December 1821. In the autumn of 1823 he organised a campaign for an Eye Infirmary in Birmingham which was successful, the Charity opening for the reception of patients on 13 April 1824. He acted as sole Surgeon until May 1828, when at his request he was replaced by Richard Middlemore. He was asked in 1840 to become Surgeon to the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

and Professor of Surgery at King's College, but declined both offers. In 1849, having made a considerable fortune in Birmingham, chiefly by

lithotomy Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" ( cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), t ...

, he returned to London. In 1851 he was made president of the

Medical and Chirurgical Society of London The Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London (RMCS), created in 1805 as the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, was a learned society of physicians and surgeons, that received a Royal charter in 1834, and a supplement charter in 190 ...

Publications

He was author of the treatise ''On Wounds and Diseases of Arteries and Veins''. Hodgson is best known for his description of Hodgson's disease, an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

al dilatation of the proximal part of the

aorta The aorta ( ; : aortas or aortae) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the Ventricle (heart), left ventricle of the heart, branching upwards immediately after, and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits at ...

, often accompanied by dilatation or

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number. Although hypertro ...

of the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Death

He died on 7 February 1869, twenty-four hours after his wife, and left one daughter. He was buried at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

, London.

References

* Plarr VG. Past presidents: Joseph Hodgson. ''Ann R Coll Surg Engl''. 1950 Aug;7(2):170-2. * Bedford D. The surgeon cardiologists of the 19th century (Allan Burns, Joseph Hodgson, Robert Adams, James Wardrop, O'Bryen Bellingham). ''Br Heart J.'' 1967 Jul;29(4):461-8.

External links

Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online: Hodgson, Joseph (1788 - 1869)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Joseph 1788 births 1869 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors Burials at Highgate Cemetery English Quakers 19th-century Quakers