Thomas Wharton (anatomist)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Wharton was an English
physician
and anatomist
best known for his descriptions of the submandibular duct (one of the salivary ducts) and Wharton's jelly
of the umbilical cord
.
, and was born at Winston-on-Tees, county Durham
, on 31 August 1614. He was admitted at Pembroke College, Cambridge
, on 4 July 1638, and matriculated two days later. He afterwards migrated to Trinity College, Oxford
, where he acted for some time as tutor to John Scrope, natural son of Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland
.
In 1642 he went to Bolton
, where he remained three years studying; and then, having decided upon his future profession, removed to London and studied medicine under John Bathurst
In 1646 he returned to Oxford, and was created M.D. on 7 May 1647. He was entered as a candidate of the College of Physicians
on 25 January 1648, chosen fellow on 23 December 1650, incorporated at Cambridge on his doctor's degree in 1652, and held the post of censor of the Royal College of Physicians in 1658, 1661, 1666, 1667, 1668, and 1673.
He obtained the appointment of physician to St. Thomas's Hospital on 20 November 1659, and retained it till his death in 1673. Wharton was one of the very few physicians who remained at his post in London during the whole of the outbreak of the plague of 1665. His services were recognised by a promise of the first vacant appointment of physician in ordinary to the king. When, however, a vacancy occurred and he applied for the fulfilment of the promise, he was put off with a grant of honourable augmentation to his paternal arms, for which he had to pay Sir William Dugdale.
Wharton died at his house in Aldersgate Street on 15 November 1673, and was buried on the 20th in the church of St. Michael Bassishaw
in Basinghall Street. He married Jane, daughter of William Ashbridge of London, by whom he had three sons: Thomas, father of George Wharton (both physicians; George married Anna Maria, daughter of William Petty
), Charles, and William; the last two died young. His wife predeceased him on 20 July 1669, and was buried at St. Michael Bassishaw on the 23rd.
. William Oughtred
, in the epistle to his Clavis Mathematicae (London, 1648), speaks of Wharton's proficiency; and Izaak Walton
, in his Compleat Angler, expresses indebtedness to Wharton, and calls him a friend.
He wrote four English verses under a fanciful engraving prefixed to a translation by Elias Ashmole
, entitled Arcanum, or the Grand Secret of Hermetic Philosophy, and published in his Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
(London, 1652). Wharton and Bathurst had visited Arthur Dee
for Ashmole (who translated his Fasciculus Chemicus
, but never met him). Ashmole and Wharton worked together on the catalogue of the Musaeum Tradescantianum
, printed in 1650, stemming from a visit they paid John Tradescant the younger
in 1650. Their friendship was troubled, but reconciliation took place before Wharton's death.
Wharton published Adenographia; sive glandularum totius corporis descriptio, London, 1656 (plates); Amsterdam, 1659; Oberwesel, 1664, 1671,1675; Düsseldorf, 1730. Large portions of the work were printed in Le Clerc and Mangot's Bibliotheca Anatomica, Geneva, 1699. Hieronymus Barbatus in his Dissertatio Elegantissima de Sanguine, Paris, 1667, makes use of Wharton's work.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and anatomist
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
best known for his descriptions of the submandibular duct (one of the salivary ducts) and Wharton's jelly
Wharton's jelly
Wharton's jelly is a gelatinous substance within the umbilical cord, largely made up of mucopolysaccharides . It also contains some fibroblasts and macrophages...
of the umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
.
Life
He was the only son of John Wharton (d. 10 June 1629) by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Hodson (d. 10 March 1646) of Fountains AbbeyFountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey is near to Aldfield, approximately two miles southwest of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. It is a Grade I listed building and owned by the...
, and was born at Winston-on-Tees, county Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, on 31 August 1614. He was admitted at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
, on 4 July 1638, and matriculated two days later. He afterwards migrated to Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he acted for some time as tutor to John Scrope, natural son of Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland
Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland
Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North.-Family:...
.
In 1642 he went to Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, where he remained three years studying; and then, having decided upon his future profession, removed to London and studied medicine under John Bathurst
John Bathurst
John Bathurst was an English physician. He attended Oliver Cromwell, and was twice Member of Parliament.-Life:He was the second son of Dr. John Bathurst, of Goudhurst in Kent. He was born in Sussex, his mother being Dorothy, daughter of Captain E. Maplesden of Marsden, a naval officer...
In 1646 he returned to Oxford, and was created M.D. on 7 May 1647. He was entered as a candidate of the College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
on 25 January 1648, chosen fellow on 23 December 1650, incorporated at Cambridge on his doctor's degree in 1652, and held the post of censor of the Royal College of Physicians in 1658, 1661, 1666, 1667, 1668, and 1673.
He obtained the appointment of physician to St. Thomas's Hospital on 20 November 1659, and retained it till his death in 1673. Wharton was one of the very few physicians who remained at his post in London during the whole of the outbreak of the plague of 1665. His services were recognised by a promise of the first vacant appointment of physician in ordinary to the king. When, however, a vacancy occurred and he applied for the fulfilment of the promise, he was put off with a grant of honourable augmentation to his paternal arms, for which he had to pay Sir William Dugdale.
Wharton died at his house in Aldersgate Street on 15 November 1673, and was buried on the 20th in the church of St. Michael Bassishaw
St. Michael Bassishaw
St. Michael Bassishaw was a church in the City of London located on Basinghall Street, on land now covered by the Barbican Centre complex. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, then rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The rebuilt church...
in Basinghall Street. He married Jane, daughter of William Ashbridge of London, by whom he had three sons: Thomas, father of George Wharton (both physicians; George married Anna Maria, daughter of William Petty
William Petty
Sir William Petty FRS was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...
), Charles, and William; the last two died young. His wife predeceased him on 20 July 1669, and was buried at St. Michael Bassishaw on the 23rd.
Works
Wharton described the glands more accurately than had previously been done, and made researches into their nature and use, relying on dissection and experiment. He was the discoverer of the duct of the sub-mandibulary gland for the conveyance of the saliva into the mouth, which bears his name. He made a special study of the minute anatomy of the pancreasPancreas
The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
. William Oughtred
William Oughtred
William Oughtred was an English mathematician.After John Napier invented logarithms, and Edmund Gunter created the logarithmic scales upon which slide rules are based, it was Oughtred who first used two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division; and he is...
, in the epistle to his Clavis Mathematicae (London, 1648), speaks of Wharton's proficiency; and Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
, in his Compleat Angler, expresses indebtedness to Wharton, and calls him a friend.
He wrote four English verses under a fanciful engraving prefixed to a translation by Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
, entitled Arcanum, or the Grand Secret of Hermetic Philosophy, and published in his Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum first published in 1652, is an extensively annotated compilation of English alchemical literature selected by Elias Ashmole. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in privately held manuscripts...
(London, 1652). Wharton and Bathurst had visited Arthur Dee
Arthur Dee
Arthur Dee , the eldest son of Dr John Dee, was a physician and alchemist.He was the eldest son of John Dee, by his second wife, Jane, daughter of Bartholomew Fromond of East Cheam, Surrey, and was born at Mortlake on 13 July 1579. He accompanied his father in travels through Germany, Poland, and...
for Ashmole (who translated his Fasciculus Chemicus
Fasciculus Chemicus
Fasciculus Chemicus or Chymical Collections. Expressing the Ingress, Progress, and Egress, of the Secret Hermetick Science our of the choicest and most famous authors is an anthology of alchemical writings compiled by Arthur Dee in 1629 while resident in Moscow as chief physician to Czar Mikhail...
, but never met him). Ashmole and Wharton worked together on the catalogue of the Musaeum Tradescantianum
Musaeum Tradescantianum
The Musaeum Tradescantianum was the first museum open to the public to be established in England. Located in Vauxhall in south London, it comprised a collection of curiosities assembled by John Tradescant the elder and his son in a building called The Ark, and a botanical collection in the grounds...
, printed in 1650, stemming from a visit they paid John Tradescant the younger
John Tradescant the younger
John Tradescant the Younger , son of John Tradescant the elder, was a botanist and gardener, born in Meopham, Kent and educated at The King's School, Canterbury...
in 1650. Their friendship was troubled, but reconciliation took place before Wharton's death.
Wharton published Adenographia; sive glandularum totius corporis descriptio, London, 1656 (plates); Amsterdam, 1659; Oberwesel, 1664, 1671,1675; Düsseldorf, 1730. Large portions of the work were printed in Le Clerc and Mangot's Bibliotheca Anatomica, Geneva, 1699. Hieronymus Barbatus in his Dissertatio Elegantissima de Sanguine, Paris, 1667, makes use of Wharton's work.