Abraham Colles

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Abraham Colles (July 23, 1773 – 1843) was professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was born into a wealthy family near Milmount, a townsland near Kilkenny, Ireland. His family owned the Black Quarry which produced the famous Black Kilkenny Marble. While he was in grammar school, there was a flood in which a local physician's house was destroyed. Abraham found an anatomy book belonging to the doctor in a field and returned it to him. Sensing the young man's interest in medicine, the physician let Abraham keep the book. He went on to enroll in the University in Dublin in 1790 and received the diploma of Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1795. Abraham went on to study medicine at Edinburgh, receiving his M.D. degree in 1797. Afterwards, he lived in London for a short period, working with the famous surgeon Sir Astley Cooper in his dissections of the inguinal region.

Following his return to Dublin, in 1799, he was elected to the staff at Dr Steevens' Hospital where he served for the next 42 years. He was a well regarded surgeon and was elected as president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1802 at the age of only 28 years. In 1804, he was appointed Professor of anatomy, physiology and surgery at the college.

In 1811 he wrote an important treatise on surgical anatomy and some terms he introduced have survived in surgical nomenclature until today. He is remembered as a skillful surgeon and for his 1814 paper On the Fracture of the Carpal Extremity of the Radius; this injury continues to be known as Colles' fracture. This paper, describing distal radial fractures, was far ahead of its time, being published decades before x-rays came into use.

He also described the membraneous layer of subcutaneous tissue of the perineum, which came to be known as Colles' fascia. He also extensively studied the inguinal ligament, which is sometimes called Colles' ligament. In 1837 he wrote "Practical observations on the venereal disease, and on the use of mercury" in which he introduced the hypothesis of maternal immunity of a syphilitic infant when the mother had not shown signs of the disease. Colles' principle textbook was the two-volume Lectures on the theory and practice of surgery. He is regarded as the first surgeon to successfully ligate the subclavian artery.

In tribute to his distinguished career, Professor Colles was awarded a baronetcy in 1839, which he refused.

He retired in 1841 and died two years later from gout. His son followed in his footsteps, being elected to the Chair of Anatomy in the Royal College in 1863.