Sir Kedarnath Das CIE, MD (1867–1936) was a prominent

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and medical educator of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

from

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Education

Kedarnath Das was educated at

Scottish Church College, Calcutta Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in Asia. ...

. He graduated in medicine in 1892 from

Calcutta Medical College Medical College, Kolkata, also known as Calcutta Medical College, is a Government medical college and hospital located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is one of the oldest existing hospitals in Asia. The institute was established on 28 Janua ...

. He earned his MD in

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...

from

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

in 1895.

Career

Kedarnath started his career as a registrar at Calcutta Medical College. Then he was appointed as a teacher in midwifery in Campbell Medical School in 1899. He joined Carmichael Medical College and became the head of department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in 1919. He remained as the principal of Carmichael Medical College from 1922 till his death in 1936. Official website of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital
, ''Principals of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital'' He served as dean of the Faculty of Medicine at

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and was a member of the Bengal council of Medical Registration and the governing body of the State Medical Faculty of Bengal. He became a member of the

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 ...

in 1901, serving as vice-president of its

branch from 1928 to 1930 and as president from 1931 to 1934.

Publications

Journal articles published in the Indian Medical Gazette and international medical journals include material on

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and

tetanus Tetanus (), also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'' and characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually l ...

. Books include ''A Handbook of Obstetrics'' (1914) and ''A Textbook of Midwifery'' (1920). His most important work is the 900-page ''Obstetric Forceps: Its History and Evolution'' (1928), which he researched by touring Europe and America and collecting obstetric forceps of various kinds.

Long curved obstetric forceps

Das designed a lighter and shorter variety of long curved obstetric forceps for use in the delivery of babies of Indian women, who typically have a smaller

pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...

and babies with a lower

birth weight Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at their birth. The average birth weight in babies of European and African descent is , with the normative range between . 15% of babies born in 2012 had a low birth weight and 14.7% in 2020. It is pro ...

Awards and honours

He was named an Honorary Fellow of the American Gynaecological Society and the American Associations of Obstetricians, Gynaecologists and Abdominal Surgeons. He was a foundation fellow of British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He received the

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

in 1918 and was knighted in June 1933.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Kedarnath 1867 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Indian educators 19th-century Indian medical doctors 19th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian medical doctors 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Educators from West Bengal Indian gynaecologists Indian Knights Bachelor Indian medical educators Indian medical writers Indian obstetricians Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata alumni Medical doctors from British India Medical doctors from Kolkata Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni