James Douglas

Biography

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

Line of Douglas

The arcuate line of the sheath of the rectus abdominalis muscle.

Folds of Douglas

Fold of peritoneum. The rectouterine portion of the uterosacral ligaments, containing the rectouterine muscle and forming the lateral boundary of the pouch of Douglas.

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; With An Account of the True Situation Of All the Abdominal Viscera, in Respect Of These Two Membranes. 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]

References

Biography

• 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.
• Baskett TF. Douglas, James (1675–1742), In: Eponyms and Names in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 3e. 2019: 127-128
• Bibliography. Douglas, James 1675-1742. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Freind J. The history of physick. 1725; 1: 172
• Buttner R, Lee J. De-eponymising anatomical terminology. 2020