Abstract
TO all who are interested in the progress of medical science and of physiology, the publication of the scientific papers of the late Dr. Wooldridge will be very welcome. Dr. Wooldridge always impressed those who knew him well as possessing many of the attributes of genius. Full of ideas in connection with the subject he chose for his work (chemical physiology), he was not con tent to limit himself to the expression of ideas simply but resorted to experiment to test the accuracy of his conceptions. The experiments and observations which he made, it may be said, dealt with one of the most complicated subjects in physiology, viz. the chemistry of the substances (proteids) closely related to the life of the cell and of the organism. A man of Dr. Wooldridge's capacity and originality could not long remain trammelled by the traditions of academic science. Although he received a very full academic training (and his early original work on the blood bears the impress of this training), he soon discovered new paths of research, and elucidated facts combating old ideas, and shedding light on the phenomena of life. It was perhaps inevitable that so original a man should come into conflict with what may be called the “academic mind” the man of great originality always does. What happened to Dr. Wooldridge in this respect is stated very clearly, and not too forcibly, in the excellent introduction to this volume by Prof. Victor Horsley. It is only necessary here to state that although Wooldridge's work was appreciated on the continent, his Croonian lecture, embodying his views on the coagulation of the blood, was refused publication by the Royal Society. It is not wise, perhaps, to lay too much stress on this error of judgment, but it may be said that Wooldridge did not publish papers containing visionary ideas, but all his conclusions were based on well-conducted experiments, and that he was a modest and sincere seeker after truth. His work, in spite of the drawbacks and disappointments of his short life, is now beginning to be appreciated, and in two or three directions he led the way to discoveries which are of great importance to physiological and pathological science.
On the Chemistry of the Blood, and other Scientific Papers.
By the late L. C. Wooldridge, Assistant Physician to, and co-Lecturer on Physiology at Guy's Hospital. Arranged by Victor Horsley, F.R.S. and Ernest Starling, M.D., with an introduction by Victor Horsley (London: Kegan Paul, Trench Trübner, and Co., Ltd., 1893.)
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The Chemistry of the Blood. Nature 49, 289 (1894). https://doi.org/10.1038/049289a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/049289a0