Thomas, William Thelwall, (1865–10 Sept. 1927), Consulting Surgeon, Royal Infirmary, Liverpool; Emeritus Professor of Regional Surgery, and Clinical Lecturer in Surgery, University of Liverpool; Consulting Surgeon King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for Wales; Fellow Royal Society of Medicine; Member of Council, Royal College of Surgeons; Member of General Medical Council; Member of University Council, Liverpool

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-178
Author(s):  
Dugald Gardner

After leaving Glasgow University, Pettigrew joined the Edinburgh Medical School in 1856. Professor Goodsir determined Pettigrew’s entire future by awarding him the Anatomy Gold Medal for an essay on cardiac muscle. The essay was accompanied by dissections of such high quality that they led to the Croonian Lecture of the Royal Society of London in 1860. After graduating, Pettigrew’s time as House Surgeon to James Syme was followed by a position in the Hunterian Museum, London. Intensive studies of urinary and alimentary muscle, and observations of insects and animals, with lectures on flight to distinguished societies, contributed to disabling illness and a long convalescence but in 1869 Pettigrew became Conservator of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and then Pathologist to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The publication of Physiology of the Circulation and of Animal Locomotion, with its emphasis on aeronautics, ensured international fame. Fellowship of both London and Edinburgh Royal Societies was another factor contributing to Pettigrew’s election to the Chandos Chair at St Andrews University in 1875. The construction and abortive flying of a motor-driven aeroplane came near the end of his life and Pettigrew gave his remaining years to completing his monumental Design in Nature.


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