Thomas Bateman (physician)

Thomas Bateman (1778-1821) was a British physician and a pioneer in the field of dermatology. He earned his medical degree from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary School of Medicine. He was a student, colleague and successor to Robert Willan (1757-1812) regarding modern dermatological practices of classification.

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Prior to the 19th century, classification of skin diseases were based on symptomatic characteristics. Dr. Willan was the first to propose a rational naming standard based on the appearance of the skin disorder. In the treatise On Cutaneous Diseases, Willan was the first to classify skin diseases from an anatomical point of view. However, Willan died in 1812, leaving Bateman to continue and expand on the work of his colleague. In 1813 Bateman published the Practical Synopsis of Cutaneous Disease, and in 1817 an atlas called the Delineations of Cutaneous Disease. Today there is a copy of the atlas in the library of the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Bateman is credited for giving clinical names to many dermatological diseases, including lichen urticatus, alopecia areata, erythema multiforme, acne rosacea, sycosis barbae and molluscum contagiosum (which was once known as Bateman's disease). The work of Willan and Bateman influenced many physicians including Thomas Addison (1875-1860), who was a pupil of Bateman, and Laurent-Théodore Biett (1781-1840), who introduced their methodology to French physicians.

External Source:

• Early Days of British Dermatology
• Whonamedit