John Dalrymple

Biography

• Born April 17, 1804 Norwich, England son of William Dalrymple, Consulting Surgeon to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals (1772-1847)
• 1827 – Graduated University of Edinburgh
• 1832 – Assistant-surgeon at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital (Full surgeon 1843)
• 1843 – Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (one of the original 300 Fellows)
• 1849 – Consulting Surgeon of North London Infirmary
• 1850 – Fellow of the Royal Society
• Died May 2, 1852

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Medical Eponyms

Dalrymple sign (1852)

Widened palpebral tissue (lid retraction) or lid spasm seen in thyrotoxicosis (Graves-Basedow disease), causing abnormal wideness of the palpebral fissure.

As a result of the retraction of the upper eyelid, the white of the sclera is visible at the upper margin of the cornea in direct outward stare. A sign of thyroid-related orbitopathy (TRO) particularly in hyperthyroidism and exophthalmic goitre.

Normally the margin of the upper eyelid rests just below the edge of the corneal limbus and covers about 1 mm of the iris

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Key Medical Contributions

1834 – Published ‘The Anatomy of the Human Eye’ a 300-page account of the history and current knowledge of the eye. ‘In my search for authorities, I found no work in the English language, especially dedicated to the anatomy of the organ of vision…I have been induced to combine in a monographic form the many discoveries and improvements that have of late years enriched the department of anatomical sciences.‘ Dalrymple 1834

1846 – Dalrymple collaborated with Henry Bence Jones to sketch the skeletal defects found in patients with multiple myeloma. In ‘On the microscopial character of mollities ossium‘. Dalrymple conducted and documented the post-mortem examination of Mr. Thomas Alexander McBean, the first well-documented case to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma (Bence Jones Protein) [1846;2:85-95.]

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Controversies

Date of birth (April 17, 1804)

• 1872 – Collection of epitaphs, links father and son with births and deaths of both 1851 census (March 30, 1851) – aged 46 (would fit with April 17, 1804)
• Baptism date: May 13, 1804 [Father: William Dalrymple and Mother: Mary Ann Bertram]
• Dictionary of National Biography (1803-1852) and many others persist with 1803, probably from 1926 origin

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Major Publications

• Dalrymple J. The anatomy of the human eye. 1834
• Dalrymple J. The pathology of the human eye. London: John Churchill. 1852
• Dalrymple J. On the structure and functions of the human placenta. Med Chir Trans. 1842;25:21-29, 306-1.[PMC2116782]
• Dalrymple J. Of the nature of the ossification of encysted tumors. Med Chir Trans. 1843;26:238–241. [PMC2116920]
• Dalrymple J. On the cause of the occasional presence of spermatozoa in the fluid drawn from the sac of common hydrocele of the tunica vaginalis. Med Chir Trans. 1844;27:18-24, 494-4. [PMC2116940]
• Dalrymple J. On the microscopical character of mollities ossium. Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science. 1846;2:85-95. [Multiple myeloma]
• Dalrymple J. Description of an infusory animalcule allied to the genus notommata of Ehrenberg, hitherto described. Phil Trans R Soc Lond. 1849;139:331–348.

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References

Biography

• John Dalrymple In: A Collection of Curious and Interesting Epitaphs. 1872: 12
• James RR. John Dalrymple, F.R.S., 1803-1852. Br J Ophthalmol. 1926 May;10(5):nil2-247.
• Wang JM, Edwards B, Tardieu GG, Loukas M, Oskouian RJ, Tubbs RS. More Than Meets the Eye: The Contributions of John Dalrymple (1803-1852). Cureus. 2017 Jun 19;9(6):e1366.
• Biography: Dalrymple, John (1803-1852). Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Eponymous terms

• Bibliography: John Dalrymple, F.R.S. Royal Society’s Catalogue of Scientific Papers (1800-1900). Volume II: 132
• Cadogan M. Eponymythology: Diffuse Toxic Goitre. LITFL: 2018
• Cadogan M. Eponymythology: Graves Orbitopathy. LITFL: 2018