Golding Bird - Collateral Sciences

Collateral Sciences

The collateral sciences are those sciences that have an important role in medicine but do not form part of medicine themselves, especially physics, chemistry, and botany (because botany is a rich source of drugs and poisons). Until the end of the first half of the 19th century, chemical analysis was rarely used in medical diagnosis – there was even hostility to the idea in some quarters. Most of the work in this area at that time was carried out by researchers associated with Guy's.

By the time Golding Bird was a medical student at Guy's, the hospital already had a tradition of studying physics and chemistry as they related to medicine. Bird followed this tradition and was particularly influenced by the work of William Prout, an expert in chemical physiology. Bird became well known for his knowledge of chemistry. An early example dates from 1832, when he commented on a paper on the copper sulphate test for arsenic poisoning, delivered by his future brother-in-law R. H. Brett to the Pupils' Physical Society. Bird criticised the test's positive result when a green precipitate is formed, claiming the test was inconclusive because precipitates other than copper arsenite can produce the same green colour.

Bird did not limit himself to challenging his future brother-in-law. In 1834, Bird and Brett published a paper on the analysis of blood serum and urine, in which they argued against some work by Prout. Prout had said (in 1819) that the pink sediment in urine was due to the presence of ammonium purpurate, but Bird's tests failed to verify this. Though Bird was still only a student and Prout held great authority, Prout felt it necessary to reply to the challenge. In 1843, Bird tried to identify the pink compound; he failed, but was convinced it was a new chemical and gave it the name purpurine. This name did not stick, however, and the compound became known as uroerythrin from the work of Franz Simon. Its structure was finally identified only in 1975.

Around 1839, recognising Bird's abilities in chemistry, Astley Cooper asked him to contribute to his book on breast disease. Bird wrote a piece on the chemistry of milk, and the book was published in 1840. Although the book is primarily about human anatomy, it includes a chapter on comparative anatomy covering several species, for which Bird carried out an analysis of dog and porpoise milk. Also in 1839, Bird published his own Elements of Natural Philosophy, a textbook on physics for medical students. Taking the view that existing texts were too mathematical for medical students, Bird avoided such material in favour of clear explanations. The book proved popular and remained in print for 30 years, although some of its mathematical shortcomings were made good in the fourth edition by Charles Brooke.