Elliotson, John, 1791-1868

John Elliotson (29 October 1791 – 29 July 1868), M.D. (Edinburgh, 1810), M.D.(Oxford, 1821), F.R.C.P.(London, 1822), F.R.S. (1829), professor of the principles and practice of medicine at University College London (1832), senior physician to University College Hospital (1834) — and, in concert with William Collins Engledue M.D., the co-editor of The Zoist. Elliotson was a prolific and influential author, a respected teacher, and renowned for his diagnostic skills as a clinician and, especially, his extremely strong prescriptions: "his students said that one should let him diagnose but not treat the patient". He was always at the 'leading edge' of his profession: he was one of the first in Britain to use and promote the stethoscope, and one of the first to use acupuncture.