Sir Stanley Davidson (1894–1981)

This famous textbook was the brainchild of one of the great Professors of Medicine of the 20th century. Stanley Davidson was born in Sri Lanka and began his medical undergraduate training at Trinity College, Cambridge; this was interrupted by World War I and later resumed in Edinburgh. He was seriously wounded in battle, and the carnage and shocking waste of young life that he encountered at that time had a profound effect on his subsequent attitudes and values.

In 1930 Stanley Davidson was appointed Professor of Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, one of the first full-time Chairs of Medicine anywhere and the first in Scotland. In 1938 he took up the Chair of Medicine at Edinburgh and was to remain in this post until retirement in 1959. He was a renowned educator and a particularly gifted teacher at the bedside, where he taught that everything had to be questioned and explained. He himself gave most of the systematic lectures in Medicine, which were made available as typewritten notes that emphasised the essentials and far surpassed any textbook available at the time.

Principles and Practice of Medicine was conceived in the late 1940s with its origins in those lecture notes. The first edition, published in 1952, was a masterpiece of clarity and uniformity of style. It was of modest size and price, but sufficiently comprehensive and up to date to provide students with the main elements of sound medical practice. Although the format and presentation have seen many changes in 20 subsequent editions, Sir Stanley’s original vision and objectives remain. More than half a century after its first publication, his book continues to inform and educate students, doctors and health professionals all over the world.

Portrait reproduced by courtesy of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine

21st Edition

The Editors

Nicki R. Colledge BSc FRCP(Ed), Consultant Geriatrician, Liberton Hospital, Edinburgh, and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh; Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Brian R. Walker BSc MD FRCP(Ed), Professor of Endocrinology, University of Edinburgh; Honorary Consultant Physician, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

Stuart H. Ralston MD FRCP FMedSci FRSE, ARC Professor of Rheumatology, University of Edinburgh; Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh

Illustrated by Robert Britton

Edinburgh London New York Oxford Philadelphia St Louis Sydney Toronto 2010