Edward H. Bennett

Biography

• Born April 9, 1837 at Charlotte Quay, Cork, Ireland, the fifth son of Robert Bennett, barrister and Recorder of Cork. His maternal grandfather was physician William Saunders Hallaran (c.1765–1825), noted for his writings on mental illness.
• 1854–1859 – Studied at Trinity College Dublin and at the Meath, Steevens, and Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospitals. At Richmond Hospital he studied under Robert William Smith (1807–1873), whose interest in osteology and fracture pathology strongly influenced Bennett. Graduated AB, MB and was the first graduate to receive Trinity’s newly established MCh degree in 1859.
• 1859 – Appointed Demonstrator in Anatomy at Dublin University.
• 1863 – Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FRCSI).
• 1864 – Awarded MD, Trinity College Dublin, and succeeded John Kellock Barton as University Anatomist, a post he held for nine years. During this period he began systematically collecting specimens of fractures, dislocations and diseases of bone.
• 1866 – Appointed one of the first surgeons to Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital when it opened for surgical cases.
• 1873 – Following the death of Robert William Smith, appointed Professor of Surgery and Curator of the Pathological Museum at Trinity College Dublin. Bennett substantially expanded and catalogued the museum’s collection of fractures and dislocations, incorporating clinical histories where available.
• 1880 – President of the Pathological Society of Dublin. During this period published and presented extensively on Colles fracture, fractures of the femur and fibula, and mechanisms of skeletal injury.
• 1881 – On November 12 presented to the Pathological Society of Dublin the characteristic fracture-dislocation of the base of the first metacarpal later known as the Bennett fracture. His evidence was derived from anatomical specimens collected in the dissecting room, fourteen years before the discovery of X-rays.
• 1882 – Published Fractures of the metacarpal bones in the Dublin Journal of Medical Science, containing the formal description of the lesion.
• 1884–1886 – President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
• 1894–1897 – President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.
• 1897–1906 – Represented the University of Dublin on the General Medical Council.
• 1900 – Elected honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
• 1902–1905 – Surgeon to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Dudley.
• 1906 – Retired from the chair of surgery and curatorship of the Pathological Museum because of declining health after more than three decades in the posts. Former pupils established the Bennett surgical prize and commemorative medal in his honour.
• Died June 21, 1907 at 26 Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin

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Medical Eponyms

Bennett fracture (1882)

Intra-articular two-part fracture of the base of the first metacarpal with carpometacarpal joint involvement. Thumb fracture usually sustained with forced abduction of the first metacarpal.

1881 – Bennett presented to a meeting of the Pathological Society of Dublin Nov 12th 1881 the fracture-dislocation now eponymous with him. He published his treatise on fractures of the base of the first metacarpal in the Dublin Journal of Medical Science. Bennet observed 27 first metacarpal fractures in a series of 113 metacarpal fractures.

…of the five examples of fracture of the metacarpal bone of the thumb…the type and character of the fracture is the same – a form and type of fracture not hitherto described in these bones; and if this series be of any value as representing the ordinary injuries, the commonest fracture, certainly the most common of the thumb, possibly of all the bones taken together. The fracture passes obliquely (a, b in woodcut) through the base of the bone, detaching the greater part of the articular facette with that piece of the bone supporting it, which projects into the palm. 

Bennett 1882

1886 – Bennett published further ‘On Fracture of the Metacarpal Bone of the Thumb‘

1897 – Bennett presented at the surgical section of the Royal Academy of Medicine. He produced anatomic specimens, photographs, casts of hands, and roentgenograms to demonstrate. Bennett presented nine anatomic specimens related to first metacarpal fractures. Five of these specimens showed the following lesion:

The fracture passed obliquely across the base of the bone, detaching the greater part of the articular surface and the piece of bone that was resting on this surface was projected toward the palm of the hand. The separated fragment was very large, and the deformity that resulted therefrom seemed more a dorsal subluxation of the first metacarpal.

Following the presentation and discussion:

…Sir William Stokes expressed the wish that the injury might in the future be associated with the name of Professor Bennett.

Br Med J 1897;1:1479

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Other eponyms

Bennett double ring splint – metal splint that slips on the finger and limits hyperextension of the proximal interphalangeal joint.

The Bennett Medal – (1907) awarded to the Surgical Traveling Prize in the School of Physic, Trinity College. Medallion with Bennett portrait, fractured first metacarpal and inscription ‘Viri in Fractis Ossibus Collocandis Sollertissimi‘

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Major Publications

• Bennett EH. Remarks on Colles’ Fracture and on Fractures of the Same Part of the Lower End of the Radius. Br Med J. 1880 May 22;1(1012):759-60
• Bennett EH. Fractures of the metacarpal bones. Dublin J Med Sci 1882;73:72-75
• Bennett EH. The physiology of plastic surgery. 1883
• Bennett EH. An Address Delivered at the Opening of the Section of Surgery. Br Med J. 1885 Aug 1;2(1283):199-200
• Bennett EH. Injuries of the skeleton: Value of the accumulation of specimens. Br Med J 1885;2:199
• Bennett EH. On Fracture of the Metacarpal Bone of the Thumb. Br Med J. 1886 Jul 3;2(1331):12-3.
• Bennett EH. Report of a Meeting of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland 14 May 1897. Br Med J 1897;1:1479
• Bennett EH. The sectional anatomy of congenital coecal hernia. 1888

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References

Biography

• Obituary: Edward Hallaran Bennett, M.D, F.R.C.S.I. Br Med J 1907; 1: 1575.
• O’Rahilly R. Edward Hallaran Bennett (1837–1907). Irish Journal of Medical Science. 1948;23(3):127–131.
• Biography: Bennett, Edward Hallaran (1837-1907). Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons of England.
• Bibliography. Bennett, E. H. (Edward Hallaran). WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Baba Y. Bennett fracture. Radiopaedia
• Cadogan M. Bennett fracture. Eponym A Day. Instagram