The elusive Henry Jones Shrapnell

In a small series of articles published in The London Gazette in 1830 Henry Jones Shrapnell, surgeon, first described the correct form and structure of the tympanic membrane. He divided the drum membrane into two parts, the pars tensa and the pars flaccida. To this day the latter structure is known to every otologist and to most medical students as Shrapnell's membrane. In addition he wrote on the function of the membrana tympani, the nerves of the ear, and the true anatomy of the os incus. Heretofore the lenticular process of the incus was considered a separate bone in the ossicular chain. In spite of his distinctive contribution to medicine, a search of over a decade failed to uncover little basic information about Shrapnell's life, and for this reason he has been called by a distinguished librarian, the elusive Mr. Shrapnell. Recently, from my continued investigation, and with the help of many fine London scholars, a clearer picture has emerged of Shrapnell's forebearers, his family, his education and his death.