The history of the Royal Society of Medicine

This lavishly illustrated book was written to commemorate the so-called bicentenary of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), which had its beginnings in 1773, though the Society was not formally established until 1907. The Medical Society of London had been founded in 1773, and by 1805 a schism formed, largely due to the autocratic regime of the incumbent President, Dr James Sims, who resolutely held onto his position and could not be ousted. This led to the establishment of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, which received its charter in 1834, when it was subsequently renamed the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, and its Members became Fellows. By 1907, there were twenty-six London medical societies that were invited to participate in an emerging comprehensive organization including the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Fifteen societies responded positively and they were amalgamated to form the Royal Society of Medicine. The growth of specialist hospitals in London from the mid-to the late-nineteenth century was followed by a concomitant rise in the number of specialist medical societies including the Pathological The formation of the RSM was significant since it united several of these organizations and, as Penelope Hunting points out, "the merger was a landmark in the gradual acceptance of specialization". Apart from the scholarship on individual medical societies, historians have paid little attention to medical societies as a genre and, while a comprehensive history of medical clubs and associations remains to be written, Hunting's detailed account of the various societies that amalgamated to form the RSM is a valuable addition to medical history. Her work surpasses the previous books commissioned by the Society in 1905 and 1955 in its exhaustive use of archival material, oral history and the collaborative assistance from numerous Fellows and former Presidents of the RSM. The first seven thematic chapters of the book encompass the development of the RSM's earlier organizations, and it continues with the advances in medicine and surgery-with the introduction of anaesthesia from the 1840s and the antiseptic methods of Joseph Lister in the 1880s. The formation of the RSM in 1907 is examined, followed by a detailed discussion of each of the twelve sections that comprised the society. The book, however, falls into two parts, each directed at a different audience. The historical narrative of the first half is discursive, cogent and cohesive; in particular, it engages the interest of historians. From chapter seven …