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The Medical Researcher
Tartar Emetic and Heart Disease
Edward Jenner is remembered today as the pioneer of smallpox vaccination and father of immunology.
However he was also a keen researcher in other fields of medicine and surgery. Early in his career (1783) he developed methods for purifying Tartar Emetic. This rather poisonous chemical was widely used to treat parasitic diseases. Jenner's improvements made the drug more reliable and less toxic in its effects.
Dr Jenner even pioneered research into heart disease. Chest pain (angina) was a common problem, but its cause was not understood. Jenner performed post-mortem examinations on the bodies of patients who had died of angina.
He observed that the large arteries around the heart were often lined with fatty and chalky deposits. In 1772 he speculated that this was probably linked with the angina. He also correctly associated unnatural changes to the heart valves (mitral stenosis) with a condition that is now known as rheumatic heart disease.
Medical Societies
The great strides in the sciences during Jenner's time were spurred on by the discussion and publication that took place in learned societies at national and local level. Edward Jenner took part in two local medical discussion groups. One met at the Fleece Inn at Rodborough (near Stroud) from 1770; the other used the Ship Inn at Alveston (just north of Bristol) from 1780.
