The Scottish Contribution to the Development of Obstetrics

Abstract

Among the many things in which the Scots nation can take pride our contribution to medical science has been of a very high order. This perhaps reached its acme in the 18th and 19th centuries when Scotland in general and Edinburgh in particular represented the magnet for medical trainees from across the globe. The catalogue of Scottish contributions to developments in medicine is enormous but perhaps in no branch of medicine is it greater than in obstetrics. It could be reasonably claimed that in compiling a list of those obstetricians from the British Isles who have made the most telling contributions to the advancement of this clinical discipline the first half dozen names would probably be Scots. This short article will highlight some of the famous obstetricians who have helped to bring the art and science of obstetrics out of the mists of obscurity to the highly developed clinical science of today.