| John Hilton (surgeon) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1804 Castle Hedingham |
| Died | September 14, 1878 |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | surgeon |
| Institutions | Guy's Hospital |
John Hilton FRCS, FRS, FZS (1804 – September 14, 1878), British surgeon, was born at Castle Hedingham, in Essex.
He entered Guy's Hospital in 1824. He was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in 1828, assistant-surgeon in 1845 and surgeon in 1849. In 1859 he was appointed professor of human anatomy and surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons College. As Arris and Gale professor from 1859 to 1862 he delivered a course of lectures on "Rest and Pain," which have become classics. He was also surgeon-extraordinary to Queen Victoria. In 1867 he was elected president of the Royal College of Surgeons, of which he been made a member in 1827 and a fellow in 1843. He also delivered the Hunterian oration in 1867
Hilton was the greatest anatomist of his time, and was nicknamed "Anatomical John." It was he who, with Joseph Towne the artist, enriched Guy's Hospital with its unique collection of models. In his grasp of the structure and functions of the brain and spinal cord he was far in advance of his contemporaries.
As an operator he was more cautious than brilliant. This was doubtless due partly to his living in the pre-anaesthetics period, and partly to his own consummate anatomical knowledge, as is indicated by the method for opening deep abscesses which is known by his name. But he could be bold when necessary; he was the first to reduce a case of obturator hernia by abdominal section, and one of the first to practise lumbar colostomy. He died at Clapham on September 14, 1878.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.