Sir Alfred Poland (1822 - August 21, 1872) was a 19th century British surgeon. He is now best known for the first account of Poland's syndrome, a congenital deformity now described as an underdevelopment or absence of the chest muscle (pectoralis) on one side of the body and webbing of the fingers (cutaneous syndactyly) of the hand on the same side (ipsilateral hand). 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Surgeon may refer to: a practitioner of surgery the moniker of British electronic music producer and DJ, Anthony Child; see Surgeon (musician) This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... // Location The clavicular head of the pectoralis major takes its origin from the anterior surface of the medial half of the clavicle. ... In zoology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of an animal. ... The anatomical planes The anatomical position is a schematic convention for describing the relative morphology of the human body. ...

Poland described the disease that bears his name (Poland's syndrome) in 1841, in a paper titled "Deficiency of the pectoral muscles" (Guy's Hosp. Rep. 6:191-193, 1841), in which he described the dissected body of George Elt, a deceased convict. He received the eponym more than a century later in 1962 through the recognition of British surgeon Patrick Wensley Clarkson (1911-1969) after he operated on a case similar to that of Poland. 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery or other item. ...

Poland was born in London and educated in Paris and Frankfurt. In 1839, he was became an apprentice of Charles Aston Key (1798-1849) at Guy's Hospital, London, and, in 1845, after qualification, he became demonstrator of anatomy. He had then been a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England since 1843, becoming a fellow in 1847. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Main Station Frankfurt Frankfurt International Airport For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ... Guys Hospital for Incurables. An illustration from John Stows Survey of London (1755). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients. ...

In 1849, Poland became assistant surgeon at Guy's Hospital. Following the death of Bransby Blake Cooper (1792-1853), he took over Cooper’s lectures on surgery. He was elevated to the rank of surgeon in 1861, when, after the retirement of France, he took charge of the ophthalmology department. He also held an appointment at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields. This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Alfred Poland was a modest, retiring man, who was quite careless about his appearance. He was warned by the Treasurer to dress more decently and cleanly, but ignored this advice. He was known by his colleagues to be an excellent surgeon, but would time his operations at unusual hours so that few observed him. Perhaps for those reasons, he had a small practice.

Apart from his surgical dexterity he was renowned at the hospital for his encyclopedic knowledge and the excellence of his presentations, both oral and written. He was an extremely popular teacher, but his career was punctuated by recurrent illness so that he remarked that he was like a cat and had nine lives. After one severe bout of hemoptysis, his physician ordered him to bed, only to see him the next day doing the rounds with his students.

In 1867, chronic cough ascribed to exposure of infection in the ward forced Poland to cease lecturing, and thereafter his health gradually declined. He lived his last years retired in Blackheath with his father. Poland died in 1872 at the age of 51 of "consumption of the lungs" (pulmonary tuberculosis).

External link

• Alfred Poland. WhoNamedIt.