James Syme - in The Dissecting Room

In The Dissecting Room

In the session 1818-1819 Syme became assistant and demonstrator of the dissecting room of Robert Liston, who had started as an extramural teacher of anatomy in competition with Liston's old master, Dr John Barclay; in those years he held also resident appointments in the infirmary and the fever hospital, and spent some time in Paris practicing dissection and operative surgery. In 1823 Liston handed over to him the whole charge of his anatomy classes, retaining his interest in the school as a pecuniary venture; the arrangement did not work smoothly, and a feud with Liston arose, which did not terminate until twenty years later, when Syme settled in London.