John Goodsir
John Goodsir (born March 20, 1814 in Anstruther , † March 6, 1867 in Wardie near Edinburgh ) was a Scottish anatomist .
Life
Goodsir attended the University of St Andrews and was apprenticed to a dentist and surgeon in Edinburgh, studying anatomy with Robert Knox and surgery with James Syme . He also studied at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh with a licentiate degree in 1835. He then joined his father's practice in the port city of Anstruther in 1835.
In 1839 he published an article on teeth in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal , which earned him recognition in scientific circles and which he also presented to the British Association for the Advancement of Science . Thus Goodsir proved the independent origin of milk teeth and permanent teeth. Edward Forbes , a college friend from Edinburgh and later a famous naturalist, drew him to investigate marine life, but mainly concerned himself with human anatomy and pathology. In 1840 he moved to Edinburgh and in 1841 became curator at the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, succeeding William McGillivray . His lectures from 1842/43 on the importance of the cell concept for anatomy had a pioneering effect and also influenced Rudolf Virchow , who dedicated his work on cellular pathology from 1858 to Goodsir. In 1843 he became a curator at the Museum of the University of Edinburgh, in 1844 a demonstrator for anatomy and in 1846 an anatomy professor as successor to Alexander Monro III.
Goodsir reorganized anatomy lessons there. In 1847 he also gave lectures on comparative vertebrate anatomy and in 1853 on natural history on behalf of the sick Robert Jameson . He then traveled to Europe (especially Vienna, Berlin and Paris). He dealt with the development of organic forms and advocated the theory that triangles are the fundamental building blocks in animate and inanimate nature.
In 1848 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1842). In 1849 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society .
His younger brother Harry Goodsir succeeded him as conservator at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1843. He died as a doctor and naturalist on the last Franklin expedition of 1845. Another brother Robert Goodsir looked for him in vain as a member of two search expeditions.
Mount Goodsir in the Canadian Rockies is named after him and Harry Goodsir.
Fonts
- Anatomical and Physiological Observations, Edinburgh 1845, Biodiversity Library
- Anatomical Memoirs, 2 volumes, Edinburgh 1868 (editor William Turner with biography of Goodsir by Henry Lonsdale).
literature
- Reinhard Hildebrand: Rudolf Albert Koelliker and his scientific contacts abroad. In: Würzburger medical historical reports 2, 1984, pp. 101–115; here: p. 104.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Member History: John Goodsir. American Philosophical Society, accessed August 25, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Goodsir, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish anatomist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 20, 1814 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Anstruther |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 6, 1867 |
| Place of death | Was the |