William James West • LITFL • Medical Eponym Library

William James West (1794 – 1848) was an English surgeon and general practitioner

He is eponymously associated with West Syndrome (Infantile Spasms) following a letter to the editor of the Lancet describing the seizure disorder witnessed in his own son

Biography

Born 1793/1794
Medical studies at Guy’s Hospital, London
1815 – Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS)
1840 – Birth of son James Edwin West, developed infantile spasms aged 4 months
Died 1848

Medical Eponyms

West Syndrome (1841)

West Syndrome (Infantile Spasms) – Triad of infantile spasms, developmental delay and hypsarrhythmia on EEG

Major Publications

West WJ. Successful operation for the removal of an ovarian tumour. Lancet 1837; 29(743):307-308
West WJ. On a peculiar form of infantile convulsions. Lancet. 1841;1:724–725. [Original article] [West Syndrome]

References

Wilks S, Habershon SO, Hodgkin T. Catalogue of the pathological preparations in the Museum of Guy’s Hospital. 1863: p324
Duncan R. Infantile spasms: the original description of Dr. West. Epileptic Disorders. 2001; 3:47-48.
Lux AL. West & son: the origins of West syndrome. Brain Dev. 2001 Nov;23(7):443-6. [PMID 11701237]
Eling P, Renier WO, Pomper J, Baram TZ. The mystery of the Doctor’s son, or the riddle of West syndrome. Neurology. 2002 Mar 26;58(6):953-5. [PMC3093242]
Ford JM. William James West (1794-1848): abdominal surgeon and distraught father. J Med Biogr. 2003 May;11(2):107-13. [PMID 12717540]