- A dictionary of medical eponyms

James Begbie

Born  1798
Died  1869

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British physician, born 1798, Edinburgh; died August 26, 1869, Edinburgh.

Biography of James Begbie

James Begbie was first a pupil of John Abercrombie (1780-1844), then Abercrombie’s assistant. He obtained his medical doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 1821 and became fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1822. He commenced his medical career as a practitioner, but for the last 20 years of his life he was consulting physician. In 1847 he was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physician, of which he was president 1854-1856, after having been president of the Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society 1850-1852. For almost 40 years he was physician to the Scottish Widow’s Fund and Life Assurance Society. Based on the experiences thus gained he published works on vital statistics.

Besides the works mentioned below, he wrote a series of papers, on the use of arsenic in chronic rheumatism, the use of nitritic-hydrochloric acid in oxaluria, and potassium bromide in nervous diseases.

Bibliography

  • De delirio tremente.
    Doctoral dissertation, Edinburgh, 1821.
  • On the Utility of the Actual Cautery in Some Surgical Diseases. Edinburgh, 1822.
  • Cases illustrative of the sedative powers of the datura stramonium.
    Transactions of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, London, volume I, 1829.
  • History of a case of supposed fracture of the neck of the thighbone within the capsular ligament.
    Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, volume I, 1826.
  • Medical statistics of life assurance observations on the causes of death among the assured of the Scottish Widow’s Fund and Life Assurance Society from 1815 to 1845.
    Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, 1847.
  • Anaemia and its consequences; enlargement of the thyroid gland and eyeballs. Anaemia and goitre, are they related?
    Monthly Journal of Medical Science, London, 1849, 9: 496-508.
    Basedow's disease.
  • Medical statistics of life assurance observations on the causes of death among the assured of the Scottish Widow’s Fund and Life Assurance Society from 1846 to 1852.
    Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, 1853.
  • Medical statistics of life assurance observations on the causes of death among the assured of the Scottish Widow’s Fund and Life Assurance Society from January 1853 to January 1860.
    Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, 1860.
  • Medical statistics of life assurance observations on the causes of death among the assured of the Scottish Widow’s Fund and Life Assurance Society from January 1860 to 31st December 1866.
    Edinburgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, 1868.
  • Contributions to Practical Medicine.
    A collection of Begbie’s papers published by Adam and Charles Black in 1862.

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