Percivall Pott was an English surgeon who worked at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, rising from assistant surgeon in 1744 to full surgeon from 1749 until 1787, and who is regarded as one of the founders of orthopaedics. In 1775 he published his observation that scrotal cancer occurring among chimney sweeps was linked to their prolonged exposure to soot, the first documented demonstration that an environmental substance could cause cancer, work that helped found the study of occupational disease. Several conditions still carry his name, including Pott's fracture of the ankle, Pott's disease of the spine and Pott's puffy tumour, and in 1765 he was elected Master of the Company of Surgeons, the body that preceded the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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Specialist In
Percivall Pott identified scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps as caused by their occupation, the first identified occupational carcinogen.
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1. Percivall Pott (Wikipedia)
Introduction (birth)
6 January 1714, in London
Introduction (death)
22 December 1788
View the SourceFrequently Asked Questions
What did Percivall Pott show about chimney sweeps and cancer?
He linked scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps to soot exposure in 1775, the first documented case of an environmental cause of cancer.
In 1775 Percivall Pott, an English surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, published his observation that scrotal cancer among chimney sweeps was linked to their prolonged exposure to soot. This was the first documented demonstration that an environmental substance could cause cancer, and the work helped found the study of occupational disease.
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