Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1031

WILLIAM HEWSON (1739-1774) The works of William Hewson, F.R.S. Printed for the Sydenham Society 1846 Edited with an introd. and notes, by George Gulliver. lvi, 360 pp., port., 8 plates. 21.5 cm.

A pupil of William and John Hunter, Hewson made a number of important observations of fundamental significance in physiology and clinical medicine. He demonstrated the effectiveness of paracentesis of air for correction of pneumothorax, showed the existence of lacteal and lymphatic vessels in the lower-vertebrates and, in his An experimental inquiry into the properties of the blood (1771), proved that fibrinogen is the clotting agent of the blood. After he died, his work was neglected for a time, but its essential importance later brought belated but well-deserved recognition. This volume contains fine copies of Hewson's original figures and a portrait of the author.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 79; Osler 2955; Waller 4424; Wellcome III, p. 259

Gift of John Martin, M.D.