Perthshire pioneer of anti-inflammatory agents (Thomas John Maclagan)

The achievements of Thomas John Maclagan (1838-1903) include the first specific use of salicin to cure acute articular rheumatism. He began salicin treatment in 1874 in Dundee, where he was a medical practitioner from 1869 to 1879. Maclagan was also the resident medical superintendent at Dundee Royal Infirmary from 1864-1866, where he was the first in Scotland to make investigative use of the clinical thermometer during the fever epidemics. From 1879-1903 he maintained a fashionable practice in London. His contributions to medicine and in particular to the development of aspirin, once ranked as equivalent to the achievements of Lister and Simpson, have now largely been forgotten. This account is a tribute to a life rich in individual endeavour, observation and effort before the "teamwork" era began.