Book Description
This book traces the life and scientific career of Dr. John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911), the English physician who pioneered the development of neurology as a medical specialty during the reign of Queen Victoria. Jackson made a number of scientific discoveries in several areas of higher nervous activity and language, and contributed greatly to the study of various types of epilepsy. He isolated the form of epilepsy associated with localized convulsive seizures, known as Jacksonian epilepsy. His research on epilepsy stretched across a broad spectrum and included uncinate attacks, intellectual aurae, and many other manifestations, which are now collectively covered by the term temporal lobe epilepsy. He was also among the first to recognize the pattern of disease of the cerebellum. Jacksons research was not limited to epilepsy, and encompassed studies in aphasia and neuro-ophthalmology. Following the concepts of the philosopher Herbert Spencer, Jackson devised a hierarchy of the nervous system with positive and negative manifestations of neurological activity. His work was based on a detailed, insightful evaluation of the clinical symptoms of diseases of the brain, coupled with meticulous, repeated studies of their phenomena. Jacksons observations of localized brain lesions led to the first cases of neurosurgical ablation of brain tumours. Much of his original work still forms the foundation of our contemporary understanding of the dissolution of language caused by disease. A straightforward, comprehensive account of the life of an eminent physician, John Hughlings Jackson: Father of English Neurology is written as a monument to a man who aroused the deepest respect and affection in his students and colleagues. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, pathologists, neuroscientists, residents and medical students will find this book a source of inspiration, and will relish its rare description of medicine in 19th century England.


Book Info
National Hospital, Queen Square and King's College Hospital, London, UK. Text tracing the life and scientific career of Dr. John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911), the English physician who pioneered the development of neurology as a medical speciality. For students, residents, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, and pathologists. DNLM: Jackson, J. Hughlings (John Hughlings).

ANNOTATION

The book contains black-and-white illustrations.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book traces the life and scientific career of Dr. John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911), the English physician who pioneered the development of neurology as a medical specialty during the reign of Queen Victoria. Jackson made a number of scientific discoveries in several areas of higher nervous activity and language, and contributed greatly to the study of various types of epilepsy. He isolated the form of epilepsy associated with localized convulsive seizures, known as Jacksonian epilepsy. His research on epilepsy stretched across a broad spectrum and included uncinate attacks, intellectual aurae, and many other manifestations, which are now collectively covered by the term "temporal lobe epilepsy." He was also among the first to recognize the pattern of disease of the cerebellum. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, pathologists, neuroscientists, residents and medical students will find this book a source of inspiration, and will relish its rare description of medicine in 19th century England.

FROM THE CRITICS

Journal of the American Medical Association

The Critchleys' biography is a straightforward and comprehensive account of Jackson's life, which should interest all physicians who enjoy medical history, particularly those whose practice is in the neurological sciences.

Dewey K. Ziegler

This remarkable book was finished in his ninety-seventh year by Macdonald Critchley, one of the greatest of the twentieth century neurologists, with the collaboration of his wife. It is, for the most part, an informal summary of Jackson's contributions to neurological subjects and evaluation of these contributions by scholars both of his time and later, but it also includes a personal biography. The authors modestly present this work as a ""tribute to one whose work was based solely on his clinical observation, scrupulous recording, and astute judgment."" The principal author inherited the tradition of British neurology directly, and is eminently qualified to comment on Jackson's work. The purpose is to provide a biography of a famous neurologist, a brief critical summary of his major writings, and their legacy. Physicians specializing in neurology and psychiatry, particularly those interested in the history of these specialties are the intended audience. The book begins with chapters on Jackson's family background, his life as a medical student, and his early professional activities, and later contains chapters concerning his personal life during years of maturity. The major part of the book consists of chapters summarizing Jackson's writings in the many areas to which he made several contributions. These include the epilepsies, the cerebellum and the disorders of language formulation, and the aphasias. Two particularly interesting chapters present the controversies generated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by Jackson's theories concerning aphasia. The contrast in the concepts of impaired language formulation by several of the nineteenth-century neurologists (e.g. Brocaand Marie), is discussed in a particularly lively fashion. A concluding chapter consists of tributes to Jackson, notably those given at a dinner on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Jackson's birth, an occasion at which the author was in attendance! This comparatively brief book is both biography and summary of a life work and does not pretend to be encyclopedic in the discussion of the various areas to which Jackson contributed. This is one of the very few full length studies of this important figure. A comparable one is that of Lassek, The Unique Legacy of John Hughlings Jackson. This book differs in that it includes a biography and has an engaging, informal style.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Dewey K. Ziegler, MD (University of Kansas Medical Center)Description: This remarkable book was finished in his ninety-seventh year by Macdonald Critchley, one of the greatest of the twentieth century neurologists, with the collaboration of his wife. It is, for the most part, an informal summary of Jackson's contributions to neurological subjects and evaluation of these contributions by scholars both of his time and later, but it also includes a personal biography. The authors modestly present this work as a "tribute to one whose work was based solely on his clinical observation, scrupulous recording, and astute judgment." The principal author inherited the tradition of British neurology directly, and is eminently qualified to comment on Jackson's work. Purpose: The purpose is to provide a biography of a famous neurologist, a brief critical summary of his major writings, and their legacy. Audience: Physicians specializing in neurology and psychiatry, particularly those interested in the history of these specialties are the intended audience. Features: The book begins with chapters on Jackson's family background, his life as a medical student, and his early professional activities, and later contains chapters concerning his personal life during years of maturity. The major part of the book consists of chapters summarizing Jackson's writings in the many areas to which he made several contributions. These include the epilepsies, the cerebellum and the disorders of language formulation, and the aphasias. Two particularly interesting chapters present the controversies generated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by Jackson's theories concerning aphasia. The contrast in the concepts of impaired language formulation by several of the nineteenth-century neurologists (e.g. Broca and Marie), is discussed in a particularly lively fashion. A concluding chapter consists of tributes to Jackson, notably those given at a dinner on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Jackson's birth, an occasion at which the author was in attendance! This comparatively brief book is both biography and summary of a life work and does not pretend to be encyclopedic in the discussion of the various areas to which Jackson contributed. Assessment: This is one of the very few full length studies of this important figure. A comparable one is that of Lassek, The Unique Legacy of John Hughlings Jackson. This book differs in that it includes a biography and has an engaging, informal style.

RATING

4 Stars! from Doody

ACCREDITATION