Dawson Turner (radiologist)

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X-ray of the heart by Dawson Turner, 1899
The monument to the Martyrs of Radiology in Hamburg

Dawson Fyers Duckworth Turner, FRSE, FRCPE (1857–1928) was a British pioneer of radiology and patron of the arts, who died of radiation related cancer.

Early life

He was born in

Edinburgh University where he graduated in Medicine (MB CM with honours) in 1888 and attained his MD 1890.[1] He became MRCPE in 1890 and was elected fellow (FRCPE) in 1891.[2]

Early medical career

After serving as resident physician in the

Edinburgh Extramural School of Medicine at Surgeons' Hall, Edinburgh
. In addition he acted as clinical tutor in clinical medicine at the Extramural School at Surgeons' Hall.

Radiology career

When X-rays were discovered by

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary remaining in this role until ill-health caused his partial retirement in 1911 from which time he became "Extra Electrician" until his full retirement in 1925.[4][5]

He was one of the first, in 1902, to use X-rays in the treatment of cancer.[6]

In 1910 he was living at 37 George Square, Edinburgh.[7]

In 1911 he was one of the earliest recorded persons using radium to treat

lymphosarcoma.[8] His surgical colleague Alexis Thomson inserted an aluminium case, which enclosed a glass tube containing radium bromide
, into the tumour below the clavicle. Turner, over the next few days, exposed the involved lymph nodes above the clavicle to radium bromide contained in a second tube. There was no trace of the tumour when the patient was examined at three months or again at one year after treatment.

Honours received

In 1901 he succeeded William Ivison Macadam as President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts (RSSA).

In 1906 Turner was elected a Fellow of the

James Affleck, Sir William Turner, Cargill Gilston Knott and James Gordon MacGregor.[5]

He was Vice President of the Roentgen Society.[3]

Later life

His Edinburgh address until retiral due to ill-health was 37 George Square.

Edinburgh University
in the 1960s to make way for George Square Library.

Early in his career he had lost two fingers of his left hand as a result of exposure to radiation which had also resulted in the loss of an eye.

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary erected a memorial plaque to his memory in the radiology department.[12]

Family

He was married to Emily Barry, daughter of William Barry of Romford.

Selected publications

  • Turner, Dawson. A Manual of Practical Medical Electricity: The Röntgen Rays, Finsen Light, Radium and Its Radiations and High-Frequency Currents. New York: William Wood & Co, 1904
  • Turner, Dawson F. D. Radium; its Physics and Therapeutics Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. London. Baillière, Tindall & Cox: London, 1914.
  • Turner, Dawson. Some Reflections Based Upon the Work Done in the Electrical Department of the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 1 (1908): 118-125.
  • Turner, Dawson. A Case of Myeloma of the Sternum Treated by Radium. British Medical Journal. 2.2849 (1915): 218
  • Turner, Dawson. Cancer and the Roentgen Rays. British Medical Journal. 2.2178 (1902): 976
  • Turner, Dawson. Report on the Radium Treatment at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, During the Year 1916. Archives of Radiology and Electrotherapy. 22.8 (1918): 251-257
  • Turner, Dawson. The Dosage of Radium. British Medical Journal. 1.3238 (1923): 100-101

References

  1. hdl:1842/24389
    .
  2. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X
    .
  3. ^ a b Obituary. Dawson Turner. BR Med J 1929 Jan 5 p48
  4. ^ a b Calder J.F. The History of Radiology in Scotland.Edinburgh, Dunedin Academic Press p4
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  6. ^ Turner, Dawson. "Cancer and the Roentgen Rays." The British Medical Journal. 2.2178 (1902): 976
  7. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1910
  8. doi:10.1259/arr.1913.0128
    .
  9. ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911-12
  10. doi:10.1259/0007-1285-2-19-330
    .
  11. ISBN 9781409246671
    .
  12. ^ University of Edinburgh Journal, vol 4, p.48
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