Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1006

THOMAS DENMAN (1733-1815) An introduction to the practice of midwifery. Printed for E. Cox, Burgess and Hill, and John Cox 1824 6th ed. 32, xlviii, 480 pp. 21.4 cm.

The third of eight children of an English apothecary, Denman went to London in 1754 to attend lectures at St. George's Hospital. Running short of funds, he was successful in obtaining a warrant as a surgeon in the Royal Navy and spent the following nine years in naval service. Returning to England, he resumed his medical studies, received a medical degree from Aberdeen, and elected to specialize in midwifery. Upon the death of William Hunter (see No. 942 ff.), Denman became his country's leading obstetrician and was the Royal College of Physician's first licentiate in midwifery. Although he is often remembered for his observations on spontaneous evolution of the fetus, he made several other important contributions to obstetrics. Denman was one of the first to resort to premature delivery for women with contracted pelvis and gave an early account of membranous dysmenorrhea. He fully endorsed conservative treatment for eclampsia and was opposed to those who favored forced delivery. He provided a good description of snuffles in congenital syphilis and wrote an essay in 1768 suggesting that puerperal fever was contagious and that physicians were responsible for its dissemination. Denman's Aphorisms and the present work were his most significant books. In 1782, he published a work entitled An introduction to the practice of midwifery which consisted chiefly of notes for his lectures at St. George's. The work in its present form was not published until 1788 at London. According to Herbert R. Spencer, the third edition of the treatise is "perhaps the most splendid work on midwifery in the English language" (The history of British midwifery from 1650 to 1800. London, 1927. p. 138). This sixth edition contains a biographical sketch written by Denman covering the period to 1779 and completed by Baillie (see No. 1176 ff.).

See Related Record(s): 942 1176

Cited references: Waller 2360 (5th ed., 1805); Wellcome II, p. 449