Hodgkin en zijn ziekte

Thomas Hodgkin (1798-1866), born into a family of Quakers, would remain faithful all his life to the principles and rules of the ‘Society of Friends’. He studied pharmacy and medicine in London, Edinburgh and Paris. As curator for the museum of pathological anatomy of Guy’s Hospital (1825-1837) he introduced modern, organ-based, medicine in England, together with the clinicians Richard Bright and Thomas Addison. In 1832 Hodgkin reported autopsy findings of seven patients who had shown swollen lymph glands and an enlarged spleen, without evidence of tuberculosis, purulent inflammation or cancer. Later the diagnosis ‘Hodgkin’s disease’ would be restricted to lymphomas with giant, multinucleated Reed-Sternberg cells on microscopic examination. Especially in his later years, Hodgkin devoted much time and effort to the emancipation of oppressed or destitute minorities, especially abroad. He died of dysentery on a journey to Palestine and lies buried in Jaffa.

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: J.P. Gijselhart works part time for the Association of the Dutch Journal of Medicine (Vereniging Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde), Amsterdam.