Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1706

WILLIAM FERGUSSON (1808-1877) A system of practical surgery. Lea and Blanchard 1843 xvi [17]-629 [11] pp., illus. 23 cm.

Fergusson initially studied law but soon switched to medicine and became the pupil of and eventually demonstrator for the anatomist, Robert Knox (1791-1862). Fergusson obtained fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh by examination in 1829 and was soon elected surgeon to the Royal Dispensary in Edinburgh. In 1836 he became surgeon to the Royal Infirmary and in 1840 he accepted the chair of surgery at King's College in London, where he spent the remainder of his career. Fergusson was elected to London's Royal College of Surgeons and served as president in 1870. He also served as surgeon to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Fergusson was a firm proponent of the practice of conservative or preservative surgery. His application of these principles are most clearly demonstrated in his operations for removal of the scapula and knee joint, excision of the head of the femur, cleft palate, lithotomy, and harelip. A skillful and masterful surgeon, he was known for his speed and ability to fabricate his own surgical instruments. A system of practical surgery was Fergusson's major work and went through five editions during the author's lifetime. It was first published at London in 1842 and this American edition appeared only a year later. It is here edited by George Washington Norris (1808-1875), professor of clinical surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hospital.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 5596 (London ed., 1842); Wellcome III, p. 17 (London ed., 1842)