Rheumatology History

The treatment of rheumatic disease goes back into antiquity. There are depictions of congenital deformities from Greek times, and in the 18th and 19th century much fun was made from the gout.

Archibald Garrod and a plate from his textbook, showing chronic tophaceous gout

The late Professor Eric Bywaters made a collection of slides and prints which he donated to the Heberden Library of the British Society for Rheumatology; the collection is now housed with the Library at the Royal College of Physicians. A selection of images, including the memorial tablet to William Heberden, can be viwed by following the link.

One of the most popular spa hospitals of the 19th Century was that at Buxton. The sale of postcards, either as souvenirs or to send a message home, was huge and sets frequently appear at postcard fairs and auctions. The selection here was acquired by Robert Jermyn

Below are some famous (and infamous) figures of 19th and 20th century physicians and scientists who have been influential in the field of rheumatology.

Bechterew, who described ankylosing spondylitis

De Quervain (eponymous name for tenosynovitis of the thumb tendons)

Hans Reiter, whose name was removed from his disease as a result of his Nazi affiliations

Hench and Kendall, discoverers of the therapeutic effects of cortisone

Jacob Churg and Lotte Strauss, of the eponymous vasculitis