James Douglas (physician)

Dr James Douglas (March 21, 1675 - April 2, 1742), was a Scottish physician and anatomist, member of the Royal Society, and physician to the Queen.

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Brother of well-known lithotomist John Douglas (died 1759), James Douglas was born in West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland in 1675. In 1694 he graduated MA from the University of Edinburgh and then took his medical doctorate at Reims before returning to London in 1700. He worked as an obstetrician, and gaining a great reputation as a physician, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1706, FCP in 1721. He was also appointed Physician Extraordinary to Queen Caroline. Douglas practiced midwifery and performed public dissections at home.

Douglas mentored and befriended anatomist and surgeon William Hunter (1718–1783), who he met in 1740 when Hunter came to London. Hunter would live in the Douglas household and remained there after Douglas died in London on April 2, 1742, leaving a widow and two children.

As a result of Douglas's investigations of female pelvic anatomy, several anatonomical terms bear his name.

Douglas pouch

Peritoneal space formed by deflection of the peritoneum.

Douglasitis

Inflammation of Douglas pouch.

Douglas abscess

Suppuration in Douglas pouch, most often seen in appendicitis or adnexitis.

Douglas fold

A fold of peritoneum forming the lateral boundary of Douglas' pouch.

Douglas line

The arcuate line of the sheath of the rectus abdominalis muscle.

Douglas septum

The septum formed by the union of Rathke's folds, forming the rectum of the fetus.