James Douglas

Biography

• Born 21 March 1675
• 1694 – MA, University of Edinburgh
• Physician Extraordinary to Queen Caroline
• Died 2 April 1742

Medical Eponyms

Pouch of Douglas (1930)

[aka recto-uterine pouch; recto-vaginal pouch; utero-rectal pouch; Douglas cul-de-sac; ]

Where the peritonaeum leaves the foreside of the rectum, it makes an angle, and changes its course upwards and forwards over the Bladder: and a little above this angle, there is a remarkable transverse stricture or semioval fold of the Peritonaeum, which I have constantly observed for many years past, especially in women.

Douglas 1730: 37-38

Douglas supported all his statements by carefully dissected anatomical preparations which he preserved in his home and allowed anybody to view. Contemporary English physician, Dr John Freind (1675 – 1728), wrote at the time of these preparations:

One ought to see the curious preparations of that diligent and accurate anatomist Dr Douglas, who is the first who has given us any true idea of the peritoneum

Freind 1725; 1: 172

Key Medical Contributions

Major Publications

• Douglas J. Lilium sarniense: or, a description of the Guernsay-lilly. 1725
• Douglas J. The history of the lateral operation: or an account of the method of extracting a stone, by making a wound near the great protuberance of the os ischium. 1726
• Douglas J. Arbor Yemensis fructum cofè ferens: or, A description and history of the coffee tree. 1727
• Douglas J. Description of the Peritonaeum and Of That Part Of the Membrana Cellularis Which Lies On Its Outside. 1730
• Douglas J. An appendix to the history of the lateral operation for the stone. Containing Mr. Cheselden’s present method of performing it. 1731
• Douglas J. Myographiae comparatae specimen, or, A comparative description of all the muscles in a man, and in a quadruped. 1750 [revised 2e 1775]

Controversies

References

• Freind J. The history of physick. 1725; 1: 172
• Bryn Thomas K. James Douglas of the pouch, 1675-1742. Br Med J. 1960;1(5186):1649-1650.
• Brock H. James Douglas of the Pouch. Med Hist. 1974;18(2):162-172.
• Koutsouflianiotis KN, Paraskevas GK, Kalitsa N, Iliou K, Noussios G. The Anatomist James Douglas (1675-1742): His Life and Scientific Work. Cureus. 2019;11(1):e3919.
• Bibliography. Douglas, James 1675-1742. WorldCat Identities
• Buttner R, Lee J. De-eponymising anatomical terminology. 2020