Alexander Wood (1725–1807): Deacon of the Incorporation of Surgeons,Surgeon-in-Ordinary,Edinburgh Royal Infirmary,and ‘Doctor of Mirth’

Abstract

This account of the Edinburgh surgeon, Alexander Wood (1725–1807), brings together information from a number of sources including the diaries of his friend and patient, James Boswell, and anecdotes recorded by James Paterson who wrote the biographical notes for Kay's Portraits. Wood was a fashionable eccentric who took a sheep and raven on his home visits and he was as popular with the poor and working classes as he was with more well-to-do patients. He was a Deacon of the Incorporation of Surgeons and one of the first Surgeons-in-Ordinary at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. His clinical skills were admired by patients and colleagues alike and he did much to enrich the life of the Edinburgh medical fraternity.

Keywords

Medical history medical clubs Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Alexander Wood Thomas Young Benjamin Bell Alexander Morison Andrew Duncan William Cullen James Boswell Sir Walter Scott

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