Robert Royston Amos ("Robin") Coombs (1921-), British physician and immunologist, co-discoverer of the Coombs test used for testing the presence of antigens (antiglobulins) in Rh disease. 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A physician is a person who practices medicine. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ... An antigen is any molecule that is recognized by antibodies. ... Rh disease (also Rhesus disease or Morbus haemolyticus neonatorum) is a condition that occurs when an Rh negative mother has given birth to an Rh positive baby and subsequently becomes pregnant with an Rh positive child. ...

Dr. Coombs studied at Linkoping, Sweden. He later obtained a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Copenhagen, Denmark. He received honorary doctoral degress by the University of Guelph, Netherlands and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom (1965), a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and a Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. The Linköping Cathedral. ... Veterinary medicine is the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. ... City nickname: none Location in Denmark Area  - Total  - Water 526 km² xxx km² xx% Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density 502,204 1,116,979 954/km2 [including water] xxx/km2 [land only] Time zone Eastern: UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 55°43 N 12°34 W Copenhagen (Danish: København) is... Established in 1964, the University of Guelph is a medium-sized university located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence. ... The Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical institution in England, and among the most active of all medical professional organisations. ...

He became a professor and researcher at the Department of Pathology of University of Cambridge, and a founder of its Division of Immunology. The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

Together with Professor Philip George Howthern Gell, he developed a classification of immune mechanisms of tissue injury, now known as the "Gell-Coombs classification", comprising four types of reactions. Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. ...

Bibliography

• Gell, P.G.H. and Coombs, R.R.A.: Clinical Aspects of Immunology. London: Blackwell, 1963.
• Coombs RR. Historical note: past, present and future of the antiglobulin test. Vox Sang. 1998;74(2):67-73. Abstract (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9501403&query_hl=11)