| Administrative History | Dr William Pirrie (bap. 1807, d. 1882), was the first Regius Professor of Surgery (1839 - 1882) at Marischal College in 1839 and subsequently became the Professor of Surgery in the University of Aberdeen. Pirrie was also surgeon to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. He was succeeded on his retirement by Sir Alexander Ogston (1844 - 1929), one of the most famous medical men to graduate from, and to teach in Aberdeen University (he taught between 1882 - 1909). [See MS 3760 'Papers of Sir Alexander Ogston' for further details].
Ogston was succeeded by Sir John Marnoch M. D., who taught surgery between 1910 - 1932. Dr James Learmonth succeeded (1932 - 1938) Marnoch; Learmonth was succeeded by Dr William Wislon (1938 - 1962) & Wislon was succeeded by Dr George Smith (1962 - 1982).
Cited from 'Department of Surgery' web page, 'History', http://www.abdn.ac.uk/surgery/history.shtml, accessed 16 January 2006. For further details see the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Joseph Forbes Keith (born 19 August 1840, Cruden), M.B., C.M. 1866; M.D. 1870. Keith joined the Indian Medical Service (Bombay), 30 September 1867, and retired as a Brigade - Surgeon - Lieutenant - Colonel, 7 May 1894.
According to letter MSU 1095/7/5 dated 9 May 1910 from Caroline Keith to the museum curator: 'my husband, Lieut. Col. Joseph Forbes Keith, a native of Aberdeenshire and graduate of Aberdeen University School of Medicine'. Lieutenant Colonel Keith performed operations for lithotomy & lithotrity at the 'Civil hospitals of Shikarpur, Karachi and Hyderabad in Sind [ Sindh] during the period between c.1888 & c.1894. At the time of this letter, the Keiths were staying in Kensington, London. |
| Custodial History | The collection was transferred from the Department of Surgery in 1985, with a series of lecture notes and related papers of Sir Alexander Oston (1844 - 1929). Ogston's papers were originally catalogued with the Department of Surgery material under the reference MSU 1095. In 2006, the whole collection was re-catalogued and Ogston's papers listed under the new reference MS 3760. Details of previous reference numbers for items in these collections are recorded in the 'AltRefNo' fields of each new catalogue entry. |
| Description | The Department of Surgery collection includes a volume containing: rolls of student attendance covering the period 1939 - 1964; records of three cases treated in 1914 at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and records of other cases that were treated [?at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary] between 1934 - 1937.
The rolls of student attendance mention an 'Alexander Stalker', who was probably Alexander Logie Stalker (1920 - 1987), Professor of Pathology, University of Aberdeen, 1969 - 1982. He graduated MB, CH B with first class honours in 1942.
The Department of Surgery collection also includes six volumes containing lists, catalogues & notebooks relating to surgical instruments & apparatus; specimens and surgical notes from the department's 'Surgical Museum'.
The student records and catalogues indicate the continuation of the teaching of surgery during the late nineteenth to twentieth centuries, through the repetition of notes and the changes in teacher & handwriting.
In addition, the surgical museum volumes, particularly MSU 1095/2/5 'Catalogue of Preparations, Instruments, etc. in the Surgery Department Marischal Museum University of Aberdeen', illustrate the evolution of some of the surgical collections in the museum.
Also, the 'Surgical Museum' series includes papers relating to many of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Forbes Keith's lithotomies, which he performed in India. Also, the papers refer generally to the treatment of calculi in the bladder.
The collection contains a Register of animal experiments performed by the Department of Surgery between 1940 - 1962. This includes a 'Return' letter relating to the 'Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876' and animal experiments performed by the Aberdeen department.
In addition, the rolls of student attendance MSU 1095/1/1and the reprint D. F. Keegan, 'Notes on Stone in the Bladder', reprinted from 'The Lancet' (1897) MSU 1095/2/7/6, reveal to an extent, some contemporary opinions about the teaching and status of some women. |