Victor Horsley
Encyclopedia
Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley (14 April 1857 – 16 July 1916) was an accomplished scientist and professor. He was born in Kensington
, London
. He was educated at Cranbrook School, Kent
and studied medicine
at University College London
and in Berlin
, Germany
(1881), and in the same year started his career as a house surgeon and registrar at the University College Hospital
. From 1884 to 1890 Horsley was Professor-Superintendent of the Brown Institute. In 1886 he was appointed as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the National Hospital for Paralysis and Epilepsy, and as a Professor of Pathology (1887–1896) and Professor of Clinical Surgery (1899–1902) at University College London. He was a supporter for Women's Suffrage, and was an opponent of tobacco and alcohol.
R.A. His given names, "Victor Alexander", were given to him by Queen Victoria.
In 1883 he became engaged to Eldred Bramwell, daughter of Sir Frederick Bramwell
. Subsequently, on 4 October 1887, Victor and Eldred married at St. Margaret's, Westminster. They had two sons, Siward and Oswald and one daughter Pamela.
He was knighted in 1902.
Victor Horsley was a champion of many causes. One of his primary life's crusades was the temperance movement. Having observed that many injuries admitted to the hospital were due to alcohol, Horsley threw himself into becoming a temperance reformer. He soon rose up to the position of a vice-president of the National Temperance League and the president of the British Medical Temperance Association. In 1907, along with Dr. Mary Sturge he published a book on alcoholism called Alcohol and the Human Body.
According to his biographers, Tan & Black (2002), "Horsley's kindness, humility, and generous spirit endeared him to patients, colleagues, and students. Born to privilege, he was nonetheless dedicated to improving the lot of the common man and directed his efforts toward the suffrage
of women, medical reform, and free health care for the working class (...) An iconoclast
of keen intellect, unlimited energy, and consummate skill, his life and work justify his epitaph as a "pioneer of neurological surgery."
In the outbreak of the First World War, Sir Victor requested for active duty in the Western Front, but was posted in 1915 as a colonel and Director of Surgery of the British Army Medical Service in Egypt
, in the Dardanelles Campaign. In the following year he volunteered for field surgery duty in Mesopotamia
, where he died unexpectedly in Amarah
, Iraq
, on 16 July 1916, of heatstroke and severe hyperpyrexia, at only 59 years of age.
Horsley was the first neurosurgeon appointed to the hospital in Queen Square, London, now called the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
– the Victor Horsely Department of Neurosurgery is named in his honour. The Walton Centre
for Neurology & Neurosurgery NHS Trust in Liverpool, England, another leading Neurosurgical Hospital dedicated their Intensive Care Unit to Sir Victor Horsley and is called the Horsley ward.
and in physiology
. He was the first physician to remove a spinal tumor
, in 1887, by means of a laminectomy
. He developed many practical neurosurgical techniques, including the hemostatic bone wax
, the skin flap, the ligation of the carotid artery
to treat cerebral aneurysm
s, the transcranial approach to the pituitary gland
and the intradural division of the trigeminal nerve
root for the surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia
.
As a neuroscientist, he carried out studies of the functions of the brain
in animals and humans, particularly on the cerebral cortex
. His studies on motor response to faradic electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex, internal capsule
and spinal cord
became classics of the field. These studies were later translated to his pioneering work in the neurosurgery
for epilepsy
. Horsley was also the first to use intraoperative electrical stimulation of the cortex for the localization of epileptic foci in humans, between 1884 and 1886, preceding Fedor Krause
and Wilder Penfield
.
He was also a pioneer in the study of the functions of the thyroid
gland. He studied myxedema
and cretinism
, which are caused by a decreased level of the thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), and established for the first time, in experiments with monkeys, that they could be treated with extracts of the gland.
Appointed in 1886 as secretary to a governmental commission formed to study the anti-rabies vaccine
developed by Louis Pasteur
, Sir Victor Horsley corroborated his results and created a campaign to vaccine against rabies
in the United Kingdom
. As a pathologist, Sir Victor carried out research on bacteria and founded the Journal of Pathology.
In June 1886 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1891 delivered their Croonian Lecture
, jointly with his brother-in-law Francis Gotch
, on the subject of the mammalian nervous system. In 1894 he won their Royal Medal
for his investigations relating to the physiology of the nervous system, and of the thyroid gland, and to their applications to the treatment of disease.
His best known innovation is the Horsley–Clarke apparatus (developed together with Robert H. Clarke in 1908) for performing the so-called stereotactic neurosurgery, whereby a set of precise numerical coordinates are used to locate each brain structure. He was a pioneer in neurosurgery, having operated upon 44 patients.
He authored the book Functions of the Marginal Convolutions (1884) and, as a co-author, Experiments upon the Functions of the Cerebral Cortex (1888) and Alcohol and the Human Body (1902).
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He was educated at Cranbrook School, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1881), and in the same year started his career as a house surgeon and registrar at the University College Hospital
University College Hospital
University College Hospital is a teaching hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London ....
. From 1884 to 1890 Horsley was Professor-Superintendent of the Brown Institute. In 1886 he was appointed as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the National Hospital for Paralysis and Epilepsy, and as a Professor of Pathology (1887–1896) and Professor of Clinical Surgery (1899–1902) at University College London. He was a supporter for Women's Suffrage, and was an opponent of tobacco and alcohol.
Personal life
Sir Victor Horsley was born in Kensington, London, the son of Rosamund Haden and John Callcott HorsleyJohn Callcott Horsley
John Callcott Horsley RA , was an English Academic painter of genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony in Cranbrook.-Life:...
R.A. His given names, "Victor Alexander", were given to him by Queen Victoria.
In 1883 he became engaged to Eldred Bramwell, daughter of Sir Frederick Bramwell
Frederick Bramwell
Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell, 1st Baronet FRS was a British civil and mechanical engineer. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1873 and served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers between December 1884 and May 1886 and the President, British Association in 1888...
. Subsequently, on 4 October 1887, Victor and Eldred married at St. Margaret's, Westminster. They had two sons, Siward and Oswald and one daughter Pamela.
He was knighted in 1902.
Victor Horsley was a champion of many causes. One of his primary life's crusades was the temperance movement. Having observed that many injuries admitted to the hospital were due to alcohol, Horsley threw himself into becoming a temperance reformer. He soon rose up to the position of a vice-president of the National Temperance League and the president of the British Medical Temperance Association. In 1907, along with Dr. Mary Sturge he published a book on alcoholism called Alcohol and the Human Body.
According to his biographers, Tan & Black (2002), "Horsley's kindness, humility, and generous spirit endeared him to patients, colleagues, and students. Born to privilege, he was nonetheless dedicated to improving the lot of the common man and directed his efforts toward the suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
of women, medical reform, and free health care for the working class (...) An iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
of keen intellect, unlimited energy, and consummate skill, his life and work justify his epitaph as a "pioneer of neurological surgery."
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in the Dardanelles Campaign. In the following year he volunteered for field surgery duty in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, where he died unexpectedly in Amarah
Amarah
Amarah , is a city in southeastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, on 16 July 1916, of heatstroke and severe hyperpyrexia, at only 59 years of age.
Horsley was the first neurosurgeon appointed to the hospital in Queen Square, London, now called the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery is a neurological hospital in London, United Kingdom and part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust...
– the Victor Horsely Department of Neurosurgery is named in his honour. The Walton Centre
The Walton Centre
The Walton Centre NHS Trust is a hospital in Fazakerley, Liverpool, England. It is the UK's only NHS Trust for neuroscience and neurosurgery. It provides services in neurology, neurosurgery and pain relief and carries out research in these fields....
for Neurology & Neurosurgery NHS Trust in Liverpool, England, another leading Neurosurgical Hospital dedicated their Intensive Care Unit to Sir Victor Horsley and is called the Horsley ward.
Medical career
Horsley specialized in surgerySurgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
and in physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
. He was the first physician to remove a spinal tumor
Spinal tumor
Spinal tumors are neoplasms located in the spinal cord. They are mostly metastases from primary cancers elsewhere . Primary tumors may be benign Spinal tumors are neoplasms located in the spinal cord. They are mostly metastases from primary cancers elsewhere (commonly breast, prostate and lung...
, in 1887, by means of a laminectomy
Laminectomy
Laminectomy is a spine operation to remove the portion of the vertebral bone called the lamina. There are many variations of laminectomy. In the most minimal form small skin incisions are made, back muscles are pushed aside rather than cut, and the parts of the vertebra adjacent to the lamina are...
. He developed many practical neurosurgical techniques, including the hemostatic bone wax
Bone wax
Bone wax is used to help mechanically control bleeding from bone surfaces during surgical procedures.It is made of beeswax with a softening agent such as paraffin or vasoline and is smeared across the bleeding edge of the bone, blocking the holes and causing immediate bone hemostasis through a...
, the skin flap, the ligation of the carotid artery
Carotid artery
Carotid artery can refer to:* Common carotid artery* External carotid artery* Internal carotid artery...
to treat cerebral aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
s, the transcranial approach to the pituitary gland
Pituitary gland
In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...
and the intradural division of the trigeminal nerve
Trigeminal nerve
The trigeminal nerve contains both sensory and motor fibres. It is responsible for sensation in the face and certain motor functions such as biting, chewing, and swallowing. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the central nervous system...
root for the surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia , tic douloureux is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain in the face, originating from the trigeminal nerve. It has been described as among the most painful conditions known...
.
As a neuroscientist, he carried out studies of the functions of the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
in animals and humans, particularly on the cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...
. His studies on motor response to faradic electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex, internal capsule
Internal capsule
The internal capsule is an area of white matter in the brain that separates the caudate nucleus and the thalamus from the lenticular nucleus. The internal capsule contains both ascending and descending axons....
and spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
became classics of the field. These studies were later translated to his pioneering work in the neurosurgery
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
for epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. Horsley was also the first to use intraoperative electrical stimulation of the cortex for the localization of epileptic foci in humans, between 1884 and 1886, preceding Fedor Krause
Fedor Krause
Fedor Krause was a German neurosurgeon who was native of Friedland .He originally studied music at the Conservatoire in Berlin, and later switched to medicine, earning his doctorate at Humboldt University in Berlin. In 1883 be became a medical assistant to Richard von Volkmann at the surgical...
and Wilder Penfield
Wilder Penfield
Wilder Graves Penfield, OM, CC, CMG, FRS was an American born Canadian neurosurgeon. During his life he was called "the greatest living Canadian"...
.
He was also a pioneer in the study of the functions of the thyroid
Thyroid
The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
gland. He studied myxedema
Myxedema
Myxedema describes a specific form of cutaneous and dermal edema secondary to increased deposition of connective tissue components in subcutaneous tissue as seen in various forms of hypothyroidism and Graves' disease. It is more common in women than in men...
and cretinism
Cretinism
Cretinism is a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth due to untreated congenital deficiency of thyroid hormones usually due to maternal hypothyroidism.-Etymology and use of cretin:...
, which are caused by a decreased level of the thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), and established for the first time, in experiments with monkeys, that they could be treated with extracts of the gland.
Appointed in 1886 as secretary to a governmental commission formed to study the anti-rabies vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
developed by Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
, Sir Victor Horsley corroborated his results and created a campaign to vaccine against rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. As a pathologist, Sir Victor carried out research on bacteria and founded the Journal of Pathology.
In June 1886 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 1891 delivered their Croonian Lecture
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Lectures are prestigious lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow one lectureship at both the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians...
, jointly with his brother-in-law Francis Gotch
Francis Gotch
Francis Gotch was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University.He was educated at London University....
, on the subject of the mammalian nervous system. In 1894 he won their Royal Medal
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
for his investigations relating to the physiology of the nervous system, and of the thyroid gland, and to their applications to the treatment of disease.
His best known innovation is the Horsley–Clarke apparatus (developed together with Robert H. Clarke in 1908) for performing the so-called stereotactic neurosurgery, whereby a set of precise numerical coordinates are used to locate each brain structure. He was a pioneer in neurosurgery, having operated upon 44 patients.
He authored the book Functions of the Marginal Convolutions (1884) and, as a co-author, Experiments upon the Functions of the Cerebral Cortex (1888) and Alcohol and the Human Body (1902).