David James Hamilton. 



in 



constrained to praise much of the text and all of its illustrations. It 

 was no small assistance to Hamilton in this literary work that his earlier 

 investigations had brought him into the closest contact with very various 

 questions of a pathological character ; he had not limited himself to a 

 narrow field of observation, but had been truly catholic in his selection of 

 objects of study. A recital of some of his chief contributions to pathology 

 may illustrate this point. 



In 1879 he commenced a series of very capable articles dealing with 

 various morbid conditions of the lung. The papers appeared at brief 

 intervals in the issues of ' The Practitioner ' throughout a period of two 

 years, so that the name of the author became familiar to medical man and 

 specialist alike. (It may be mentioned that Hamilton particularly desired 

 to accentuate the value of pathological study in its proper relationship to 

 diagnosis and treatment.) Topographical knowledge of the central nervous 

 system was enriched by his contributions on the conducting paths in the 

 brain, and especially by his work on the corpus callosum in adult and 

 embryonic conditions. (In prosecuting these researches he was assisted by 

 a grant from the Eoyal Society.) In 1882 a communication was made 

 by him to the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh, in which he dealt with a physical 

 explanation of diapedesis, and illustrated his theories by novel and ingenious 

 mechanism. 



Much originality of idea, expressed with his wonted lucidity, is dis- 

 played in his studies relating to sponge grafting, and to embolic infarction, 

 as well as in articles bearing upon such matters as the influence of heredity 

 in disease, the pathology of gastric dyspepsia, and the alimentary canal as a 

 source of contagion. 



Hamilton showed a keen interest in the pathological conditions occurring 

 amongst domestic animals, especially those which contribute to the food 

 supply of man, and his later work in this direction is important, 

 not merely from its bearing upon agricultural economics, but also as 

 a practical addition to current knowledge of invasion and resistance. 

 His inquiry into the relationship of human to bovine tuberculosis 

 strengthened by its results his opposition to the views adopted by Koch; 

 whilst his laborious investigation into the etiology, symptomatology, and 

 prophylaxis of certain disorders occurring amongst sheep led to very inter- 

 esting and valuable conclusions. 



This — his last, and probably his most important work — must be referred 

 to in some detail. The commencement of this inquiry is now remote, for it 

 was in 1881 that Hamilton was sent to the Island of Skye by the Highland 

 and Agricultural Society as the expert member of a committee charged with 

 investigation of the disease known as " Braxy " (morbus subitarius ovis). The 

 time of year chosen for the expedition proved unfavourable for this purpose. It 

 was not until 1897 that Hamilton found himself able to resume the research : 

 in that year he visited the Fort William district, with other localities where 

 disease was rampant, observing the symptoms and topography not only of 



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