Robert Bentley Todd
Robert Bentley Todd (born April 9, 1809 in Dublin , † January 30, 1860 in London ) was an Irish physiologist and pathological anatomist . According to him, which is Toddsche paralysis named.
Life
Todd was the second of 16 children to the distinguished Irish surgeon Charles Hawkes Todd, who was Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He went through his early training at Trinity College in Dublin, where he first studied law and medicine from 1826 before moving to London in 1831 . He continued his studies at Pembroke College , Oxford . Todd then toured France , Belgium and the Netherlands . In 1833 he received his license to practice medicine from the College of Physicians and in 1836, at the age of only 27, he became professor of physiology and pathological anatomy at King's College London . From this position he emerged as a determined supporter of a reform of medical and especially nursing education. He himself was considered one of the three greatest clinical teachers in Europe in his time. He played a key role in founding King's College Hospital , which opened in 1840, and where he gave clinical lectures until shortly before his death. In 1842 he became dean and transformed the medical faculty of King's College from one of the worst educational institutions in London with only 42 students in 1836 to one of the most respected with 169 students in 1853. He also helped establish the first London nursing school, St. John's House , in 1848. Robert Bentley Todd died in 1860 at the age of 50 of gastrointestinal bleeding from cirrhosis of the liver .
plant
Todd left authoritative work in which he was the first to correctly describe hypertrophic liver cirrhosis , recognized the sensory functions of the posterior cords , clearly differentiated between purely motor plegia and ataxia , and described the symptoms of lead poisoning . His own views on the genesis of epilepsy must be considered modern and groundbreaking. He also undertook his own experiments in this regard, in which, for example, he triggered epileptic seizures in rabbits with electricity . There was a close exchange with John Frederic Daniell , Charles Wheatstone and probably also with Michael Faraday .
Between 1835 and 1859 he published the Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology , in which he introduced the terms afferent (leading) and efferent (leading away).
literature
- FF Cartwright: Robert Bentley Todd's contribution to medicine . In: Proc Roy Soc Med. (1974) 67: 893-7
- DL Binder: A history of Todd and his paralysis . In: Neurosurgery . (2004) 54: 480-487
- Barbara I. Tshisuaka: Todd, Robert Bentley. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1402.
Web links
- Todd's The Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology (1836-1852) as a facsimile
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anonyom .: Three English obituaries. In: Aerztl intelligence sheet . tape 7 , 1860, p. 148-150 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Todd, Robert Bentley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish physiologist and pathologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 9, 1809 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dublin |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 30, 1860 |
| Place of death | London |