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Blundell's successes had a profound effect on hematology, physiology, obstetrics and surgery.
Though his career was brief, James Blundell was an innovator and pioneer and was distinguished as one of the first physicians to practice blood transfusion in humans. His career as a physiologist, obstetrician, teacher and physician led to great achievements in multiple areas of medicine.
Among those achievements was the ability to transfuse whole blood from human to human - a feat he first experimented with in dogs. He also made advancements in abdominal surgery as well as in surgical strategies for obstetrics and gynecology, including the division of fallopian tubes during caesarean operations to ensure sterility and the removal of the ovaries to alleviate dysmenorrhea.
Early life
Blundell was born in London on Dec. 27, 1790. Aside from Thomas Pettigrew's "Medical Portrait Gallery" - a book containing biographical memoirs of science's major influences - little of Blundell's early life is known.
He received a classical education under the Rev. Thomas Thomason and began his medical education at the United Southwark Hospitals. There Blundell studied anatomy and surgery under Sir Astley Cooper, known for his achievements in vascular surgery. Blundell also studied midwifery and physiology under his uncle, Dr. John Haighton, who had an enormous influence on his medical career.
The young physician continued his studies at The University of Edinburgh, Scotland where he was deeply engaged in botany and jurisprudence, which at the time had been paid little attention...