Jacob Mendes Da Costa

Biography

• Born February 7, 1833 St. Thomas, West Indies (Danish colony)
• 1837 – traveled with family for education in Europe (Dresden gymnasium)
• 1845-1852 – Studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College, USA
• 1852 – Returned to Europe working in Paris with Armand Trousseau (1801-1867), then on to work in Prague and Vienna
• 1853-1861 – Physician to the dispensary of Moyamensing House of Industry, but struggled in private practice and preferred to teach medical students. Exyensive teaching resulted in his very popular textbook ‘Medical Diagnosis‘ in 1864 (running to nine editions).
• 1861-1865 Acting Assistant Surgeon, Military Hospital in Philadelphia
• 1865 – Visiting Physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital
• 1866 – Chairman of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College
• 1872 – Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College
• Died September 12, 1900

Medical Eponyms

Da Costa Syndrome (1871)

Symptom-complex characterized by palpitation, dyspnea, precordial pain, fatigue, exaggerated emotional responses with increased cardiac awareness, and occasionally, systolic hypertension

Major Publications

• Da Costa JM. Medical diagnosis. Lippincott 1864.
• Da Costa JM. On Irritable Heart; A Clinical Study of a Form of Functional Cardiac Disorder and Its Consequences. American Journal of the Medical Sciences 1871, 61: 17–52. [Da Costa Syndrome]
• Da Costa JM. On strain and over-action of the heart. Toner lecture, delivered May 14, 1874
• Da Costa JM. Professional aspirations: valedictory address to the graduating class of Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. 1891.
• Da Costa JM. Biographical sketch of Dr. Austin Flint. Philadelphia: 1887

References

• Wooley CF. Jacob Mendez DaCosta: medical teacher, clinician, and clinical investigator. Am J Cardiol. 1982 Nov;50(5):1145-8. [PMID 6753556]