Joseph Toynbee – otologist, scientist, philanthropist
Journal Title: Otolaryngologia Polska - Year 2009, Vol 63, Issue 2
Abstract
Joseph Tonbee’s life’s work may be summarized in the words of William Wilde: “The labours and investigations of Mr. Toynbee have affected more for aural pathology than those of all his predecessors either in England or on the continent”. Some idea of the extent of his researches is given by the fact that he dissected some 2.000 ears. These preparations formed the Toynbee Collection in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He wrote the results of his researches in a catalogue that includes the description of 1.659 human ears. This catalogue forms the basis of modern otology for all time. This purely pathological catalogue was completed in 1860 with the publication of a more clinical book, “The Diseases of the Ear: their Nature, Diagnosis and Treatment”. Toynbee appears to have been the fi rst to describe the pathological changes in otosclerosis. In his book “Diseases of the Ear” he described the condition clearly, recognizing “anchylosis of the stapes to the fenestra ovalis” in 136 temporal bones. He also aligned the subjective, visual and ausculatory tests for Eustacchian tubal patency which we use today. Adam Politzer wrote: “Toynbee was the fi rst who realized in otology that therapeutic progress depends on the knowledge of anatomy”. But Toynbee was also active on other fi elds. Politzer, in his lecture in Vienna in 1914 said: “Toynbee was as outstanding a savant as he was a philanthropist. In addition to his scientifi c activity, he considered it a sacred task to dedicate his spare time to the improvement of living and health conditions of the poorer classes.” Tragic enough, Toynbee’s zeal for clinical experimentation went too far. Seeking to help his patients by devising a treatment to allay their tinnitus, he conceived the idea of introducing a mixture of chloroform and prussic acid into the tympanic cavity by means of Valsalva maneuver. When he made the fi rst trial on July 7, 1866, with himself as a subject, he was found dead on the couch in his consulting room.
Authors and Affiliations
Stanisław Betlejewski, Andrzej Betlejewski
Keywords
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