Thomas Blizard Curling (18114 March 1888) was a British surgeon. He was born in

Tavistock Place Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden near Euston Station. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Franc ...

, London in 1811, the son of civil servant Daniel and Elizabeth (née Blizard) Curling and educated at Manor House, Chiswick. Without a degree but through the influence of his surgeon great uncle, Sir

William Blizard Sir William Blizard FRS FRSE PRCS FSA (1 March 1743 – 27 August 1835) was an English surgeon. Life He was born in Barn Elms, Surrey, the fourth child of auctioneer William Blizard. After an apprenticeship to a surgeon and apothecary in Mor ...

, he became assistant-surgeon to the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

in 1833, becoming full surgeon in 1849. In 1834 he won the Jacksonian prize for his investigations on

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 ...

; and he became famous for his skill in treating diseases of the

testes A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

and

rectum The rectum (: rectums or recta) is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. Before expulsion through the anus or cloaca, the rectum stores the feces temporarily. The adult ...

, his published works on which went through many editions. A

stress ulcer A stress ulcer is a single or multiple mucosal defect usually caused by physiological (not psychological) stress which can become complicated by upper gastrointestinal bleeding. These ulcers can be caused by shock, sepsis, trauma or other con ...

resulting from burns is called a Curling's ulcer after him. 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 June 1850. After filling other important posts in the

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 ...

, he was appointed president of the College in 1873. In 1871, he was elected President of the

Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society 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 ...

. He died in Cannes, France on 4 March 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curling, Thomas Blizard 1811 births 1888 deaths People from Bloomsbury English surgeons Alumni of the London Hospital Medical College Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellows of the Royal Society Medical doctors from London Presidents of the Hunterian Society