Sir James Paget and Paget’s disease

Paget's disease was first reported in the year 1877 by Sir James Paget. James Paget was born in 1814 in Yarmouth, England he apprenticed out to a local surgeon in 1830.

In 1836, after studying medicine in London, Paget passed the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons. Paget joined the teaching and clinical staff at St, Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.

In 1854, James Paget described the first carpal tunnel syndrome as a median nerve compression following a fracture of the distal radius.

He is best remembered today for his description of the diseases which became known as Paget’s disease. 

In 1876, he read a necropsy report ‘On a form of chronic inflammation of the bones’ before the Royal Medio-Chirurgical Society and subsequently published what he believed to be the first thorough description of a disorder of bone remodeling and turnover.

It was an exhaustive and complete description of the disease; detailed postmortem findings with result of microscopical examinations of the diseased bones were given.
Sir James Paget and Paget’s disease

History of Arthritis

History of Arthritis

Perhaps the oldest known type of arthritis, gout or gouty arthritis has been described since Hippocrates in the 5th century B.C. At one time, the term “gout” was used to describe all types of arthritis. Known as the “Disease of Kings” due to its association with rich foods and alcohol consumption, Colorful depictions of gout can be found in art and literature often with commentary on the moral character of the gout sufferer.

Review of medical and archaeological papers reveals that arthritis has been common in humans and hominids since Paleolithic times.

In the British Isles, there was a particularly high prevalence in remains from Romano-British and Saxon burials suggesting that, whatever genetic factors there may have been, there was an extremely high level of physical activity.

The prevalence of the condition was lower in late Medieval times; and, in at least one study of subjects from the 18th and 19th centuries, lower than in the current population. In early times, there was a reduction in bone density when there was a change from hunter gathering to

agriculture which may have resulted from a change physical activity. Severe cases of osteoporosis have been identified from individual skeletons dated to the Bronze Age.

In the Early Medieval period of Nubia there was progressive bone loss in women. Multiple pregnancy, prolonged lactation and dietary deficiency may have been factors. Though women from the 18th and 19th centuries experienced post-menopausal bone loss, this was not as severe as in the present day.
History of Arthritis