At the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942, over 100,000 men became prisoners of the Japanese. This included many medical officers who, over the ensuing years, treated men (and some women) suffering the ravaging effects of disease, worsened by the inhumane conditions of captivity. Many medical officers stand out for their work. One in particular, Jacob Markowitz, developed a blood transfusion service, under the most extreme conditions, for the sick working as slave labour on the Burma Railway. Although he qualified 20 years before the outbreak of war, little has been written of Markowitz’s early life, or of the impact of this on his war-time contributions.
ChaikoffILMacleodJJRMarkowitz, et al.Effect of insulin on depancreatised dogs. Am J Physiol1925; 74: 36–48.
5.
Jacob Markowitz in Toronto 1926. Wellcome Library, London, UK, Shelf mark GC/151/3/8/10. Box 1.
6.
CathcartEPMarkowitzJ. The influence of various sugars on the respiratory quotient. J Physiol1927; 63: 309–324.
7.
MarkowitzJ. The clinician’s physiologist. Can Med Ass J1963; 58: 950.
8.
CampbellWRMarkowitzJ. On the metabolism of dihydroxyacetone in pancreatic diabetes. Am J Physiol1927; 80: 561–575.
9.
MarkowitzJCampbellWR. The relief of experimental ileus by spinal anaesthesia. Am J Physiol1927; 81: 101–106.
10.
BlissM. The discovery of insulin, London, UK: Faber and Faber, 1982.
11.
MarkowitzJEssexHE. Observations on the preparation and activities of a visceral organism. Am J Physiol1930; 92: 205–213.
12.
LearmonthJRMarkowitzJ. Studies of the innervation of the large bowel. Am J Physiol1930; 94: 501–504.
13.
Learmonth returned to Britain in 1932, to the Regius Chair of Surgery at Aberdeen. After six years he was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Edinburgh, and in 1949 performed a lumbar sympathectomy on King George VI to relieve intermittent claudication.
14.
P.O.W Camp Nakompaton 1942–1945. The National Archives, Kew, UK, WO 222/1389.
15.
MarkowitzCMannFC. Studies on the physiology of the liver. XXI The role of the liver in the formation of lymph. Am J Physiol1931; 96: 709–712.
16.
MarkowitzC. Response of explanted embryonic cardiac tissue to epinephrine and acetylcholine. Am J Physiol1931; 97: 271–275.
17.
MannFCPriestleyJTMarkowitzJ, et al.Transplantation of the intact mammalian heart. Arch Surg1933; 26: 219–224.
18.
MasonJBMarkowitzJMannFC. A plethysmographic study on the thyroid gland. Am J Physiol1930; 94: 125–134.
19.
PriestleyJTMarkowitzJMannFC. The tachycardia of experimental hyperthyroidism. Am J Physiol1931; 98: 357–362.
20.
In January 1968, on hearing of the first human heart transplant in USA, Markowitz wrote that it was ‘immoral to transplant human hearts until there was a greater chance of long-term survival.’ Instead he proposed that research should be directed towards transplanting tissues from mammalian embryos.
21.
FyansP. Captivity, slavery and survival as a far eat POW. The conjuror on the Kwai, Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword, 2011.
22.
WatersETMarkowitzJJaquesLB. Anaphylaxis in the liverless dog, and observation on the anticoagulant of anaphylactic shock. Science1938; 87: 582–583.
23.
BessnerE. Double threat. Canadian Jews, the Military and World War II, Toronto: New Jewish Press, 2018.
24.
Markowitz J. Some experiences as a medical officer with the Royal Army Medical Corps. Delivered at The Empire Club of Canada, Toronto, 17 October 1946.
25.
NardellSG. Jungle medicine and surgery, Lewes, Sussex: Book Guild, 1999, p. 29.
26.
WatkinsP. From hell island to hay fever, the life of Dr Bill Frankland, Bath, UK: Brown Dog Books, 2018, p. 216.
27.
Markowitz J. I was a knife, fork and spoon surgeon. Magazine Digest, Canada, June 1946, pp. 81–85.
28.
MarkowitzJ. Transfusion of defibrinated blood in P.O.W. Camps at Chungkai and Nakom Paton, Thailand. J Roy Army Med Corps1946; 86: 189–197.
29.
ChalkerJB. Burma Railway artist, London, UK: Leo Cooper, 1994, p. 105.
30.
MarkowitzJ. A series of over 100 amputations of the thigh for tropical ulcer. J Roy Army Med Corps1946; 86: 141–146.
31.
MarkowitzJ. Experiences with cholera in a jungle camp in Thailand. J Roy Army Med Corps1946; 86: 150–158.
32.
MarkowitzJRappaportAM. The hepatic artery. Physiol Rev1951; 31: 188–204.
33.
MarkowitzJ. Textbook of experimental surgery, Baltimore, MD: William Wood and Company, 1937.
