Sir Robert Carswell (1793–1857) was a Scottish professor of

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

, who described and illustrated many of the clinical details of

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

but did not identify it as a separate disease.

Life

Carswell was born in Paisley, Scotland, on 3 February 1793, and studied medicine at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. While a student he employed by Dr. John Thompson of Edinburgh to make a collection of drawings illustrating morbid anatomy. He travelled to the continent, and spent two years (1822–3) working at the hospitals of Paris and Lyon, while working on this collection. He returned to Scotland, and took his degree of M.D. at

Marischal College, Aberdeen Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

, in 1826. After this he went again to Paris, and resumed his studies in morbid anatomy under

Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis Pierre-Charles-Alexandre Louis (14 April 178722 August 1872) was a French physician, clinician and pathologist known for his studies on tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and pneumonia, but Louis's greatest contribution to medicine was the development ...

. Around 1828 Carswell was chosen by

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

as professor of pathological anatomy; but before entering on his teaching duties was commissioned to prepare a collection of pathological drawings. He therefore remained in Paris after receiving this commission till 1831, when he had completed a series of two thousand water-colour drawings of diseased structures. He then took the duties of his professorship. At the same time, or soon afterwards, he became physician to the

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

. About 1836 Carswell took up private medical practice, but did not meet with great success. In poor health, he in 1840 resigned his professorship, and was appointed physician to the

Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Rus ...

and his royal family. He lived at

Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

, near Brussels, making several journeys to the south in search of health. Carswell made no further contributions to medical science. He was knighted in July 1850 by Queen Victoria for his services to

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

when an exile in the United Kingdom. He died on 15 June 1857, of chronic lung disease. He married Marguerite Chardenot, who survived him, but left no issue.

Works

Carswell's major work, published in 1837, was ''Illustrations of the Elementary Forms of Disease'', with coloured plates. He wrote also journal articles, and in the ''

Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine The ''Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine'' was a British monthly medical journal, first published in 1832. It was divided into alphabetical articles, and came to four volumes, part-published and then completed by 1835. The volumes were: #Abd–Ele ...

'' the articles "Induration", "Melanosis", "Mortification", "Perforation", "Scirrhus", "Softening", and "Tubercle".

Collections

Carswell's pathological drawings were commissioned by University College London and now reside in their Special Collections department. The Carswell Drawings collection contains over 1000 artworks and 3 boxes of manuscript material. The majority of these images have been digitised and ar
publicly available to view online

References

;Attribution

External links

Carswell Drawings
(archive catalogue) at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Carswell Drawings
(digital collection) at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carswell, Robert 1793 births 1857 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish pathologists Scottish knights