William Twining (military physician)

William Twining (1790-1835) was a British military surgeon who practiced in the Indian Subcontinent.

Early life

William Twining was born in 1790.[1] His father was Reverend William Twining of Nova Scotia.[1] His grandfather Griffith Twining had in 1770 left his home in Clarbeston, Pembrokeshire, Wales to be a missionary abroad.[1] The family has origins in the town of Twining near Tewkesbury.[1] By common ancestry from the 1400s with Twining family of Pershore, Twining was a distant relation to Richard Twining of Twinings and the East India Company tea trade.[1]

Twining began studying medicine at Guy's Hospital under Astley Cooper in 1808.[1] For two years he worked as an anatomy demonstrator for Joshua Brookes.[1]

Career

In 1821 he became personal surgeon to Edward Paget, Governor of Ceylon.[1] In 1824 he became the Assistant Surgeon to the Bengal Establishment in the East India Company.[1] While in that role he also continued his term of military service through 1830.[1]

In 1835 Twining wrote what seems to be the first modern clinical description of kala azar, which he called "tropical sprue".[1][2] In his description, he said that it was "endemic cachexia of the tropical countries that are subject to paludal exhalations", and then listed characteristics which match contemporary understanding of the disease.[2]

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References
  1. Cook, G C (1 August 2001). "William Twining (1790–1835): The First Accurate Clinical Descriptions of "Tropical Sprue" and Kala-Azar?". Journal of Medical Biography. 9 (3): 125–131. doi:10.1177/096777200100900301. PMID 11466511.
  2. Gupta, PCS (May 1947). "History of Kala-Azar in India". The Indian Medical Gazette. 82 (5): 281–286. PMC 5196405. PMID 29015274.
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