Henry Bence Jones

Henry Bence Jones ( born December 31, 1813 in Yoxford, Suffolk, † April 20, 1873 in London) was an English physician and prominent representative of clinical chemistry in 19th century England. According to him, the Bence -Jones protein is named.

Life

Henry Bence Jones was the son of the cavalry officer William Jones (* 1776, † 1843) and his wife Matilda Sparrow Bence (* 1791). From 1827 he attended the Harrow School. From 1832 to 1836 he studied at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. For him an ecclesiastical career was originally intended, but after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, he decided against such a. Instead, he spent a half -year internship at St. George's Hospital Pharmacists of London. On October 1, 1838 Bence Jones finally wrote as a student of medicine. In the spring of 1839 he returned due to his illness of rheumatic fever in his home.

On his return to London in the autumn of 1839 Bence Jones was educated at University College London under Thomas Graham. Meanwhile, assistant George Fownes had worked in casting at Justus von Liebig and taught Henry Bence Jones in Organic Chemistry. In October 1840 the medical school took up again and put in the following spring his degree from.

On the recommendation of his former teacher Graham Henry Bence Jones and Fownes spent the next half year in Giessen laboratory of Justus von Liebig, an experience that shaped his work as a clinical chemist sustainable.

After his return from casting Bence Jones was back at St. George 's Hospital operates. In 1842 he received a Master's degree from Cambridge University and opened his practice. In addition to his work in the laboratory at St. George 's Hospital he held in his representation Geoge Fownes ' lectures in organic chemistry. From December 1845 he worked as assistant physician in the clinic, in the following year he became physician. Also in 1849 was the award of the medical doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

Henry Bence Jones ' practice enjoyed a good reputation to his patients and friends included Thomas Henry Huxley, Charles Darwin, Hermann von Helmholtz, Michael Faraday and August Wilhelm von Hofmann. Florence Nightingale called him the "best clinical doctor" in London.

1862 was Bence Jones his place at St. George 's Hospital on. His health steadily deteriorated since 1866. At the beginning of 1873 he gave up his practice and died on April 20 of the same year in his London flat in Brook Street from heart failure. Bence Jones was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

Henry Bence Jones was married in May 1842 Lady Millicent Acheson French ( 1812-1887 ). The couple had seven children, four daughters and three sons.

Work

Henry Bence Jones is known today primarily by the eponymous Bence -Jones protein, which he described in 1847. The hematologist Robert A. Kyle assumes that this protein has already been described in 1846 by Johann Florian Heller. Bence Jones stands by Kyle rather the merit of having pointed out the diagnostic relevance of the presence of the protein, the cancer later than multiple myeloma designated. The actual character of the Bence -Jones protein was revealed only in the 20th century, with its description as " hydrated oxides of German albumin" was wrong Bence Jones.

Because of his work in the field of clinical chemistry Bence Jones is known as the most prominent representative of this genre in England in the 19th century. He led by urine analyzes, examined the influence of dietetic measures on the composition of urine and experimented on animals for retention of drugs in the body.

Memberships and Honors

In 1842, Henry Bence Jones received the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians ( LRCP ). In 1846 he became a member of the Royal Society, the membership of the Royal College of Physicians followed in 1849. 1860 he was appointed secretary of the Royal Institution, a position he held until his death.

Writings

A comprehensive bibliography can be found in Fine: Henry Bence Jones.

• On gravel, calculus and gout; chiefly on application of Prof. Liebig's physiology to the prevention and cure of diseases synthesis. Taylor and Walton, London, 1842.
• On a new substance Occurring in the urine of a patient with " mollities ossium ". Phil Trans Royal Soc London 55-62, 1848. ( Full text )
• Chemistry of urine. , 1857.
• On animal chemistry in its application to stomach and renal diseases. , 1856.
• Lectures on some of the applications of chemistry and mechanics to pathology and therapeutics. , 1867.
• The life and letters of Faraday. 2 Bd, Longmans, Green, London, 1870. ( Full text, Volume 1, Full Text Volume 2 )
• The Royal Institution: its founder and its first professors. Longmans, Green, London, 1871. ( Full text )