Jacob Mendes Da Costa,
M.D.
(The following are the personal edited research notes of
Michael Echols, the source of which may or may not be
completely documented)
(1833-1900)
Jefferson Medical College Class of 1852
Jacob Mendes Da Costa's
research, writings, and teaching were influential in the
development of internal medicine as a specialty. However, his
greatest contribution to American medicine lay in his clinical
instruction at various Philadelphia institutions. Born 7
February 1833 on the Island of St. Thomas in the West Indies,
Jacob Mendes Da Costa received his early education in Dresden,
Germany, before coming to Jefferson Medical College. A graduate
of the class of 1852, Da Costa received postgraduate education
in Europe - mainly Paris but also Vienna.
Upon his return from
Europe, Da Costa began his practice in Philadelphia and his
private teaching at the Moyamensing Dispensary (1853-1861).
During the Civil War, Da Costa served as assistant surgeon in
the U.S. Army and at Turner's Lane Hospital, Philadelphia. Here,
he undertook research on "irritable heart" (neurocirculatory
asthenia) in soldiers, research that was of landmark importance
in clinical medicine. After the Civil War, Da Costa continued
his teaching at the Pennsylvania Hospital (1865-1900). He began
at Jefferson Medical College as a lecturer on clinical medicine
(1866-1872), then professor of theory and practice of medicine
(1872-1891), and finally professor emeritus (1891-1900). While
Da Costa retired in 1891, he continued his medical efforts as a
consultant and supporter for medical education reform and served
as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania in 1899. ( From:
Jeffline: TJU Archives.)
From:
Virtualology
DA COSTA, Jacob M., physician,
born in the Island of St. Thomas, West Indies, 7 February 1833. His literary and
classical education was received in Germany, his medical in Jefferson College,
Philadelphia, where he was graduated in 1852, and in the hospitals and schools
of Paris and Vienna, where he passed two years. In 1854 he returned to
Philadelphia, established himself there in practice, and made a special study of
diseases of the heart and lungs. In 1864 he was appointed lecturer on clinical
medicine in Jefferson medical College, and in the spring of 1872 was chosen
professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the same institution. His
contributions to medical literature include "Epithelial Tumors and Cancers of
the Skin" (1852); "An Inquiry into the Pathological Anatomy of Acute Pneumonia"
(1855); "The Physicians of the Last Century" (1857); "On Serous Apoplexy"
(1859); "Medical Diagnosis, with Special Reference to Practical Medicine"
(1864); and "Inhalation in the Treatment of Diseases of the Respiratory
Passages" (1867). He has also contributed many articles to the "Pennsylvania
Hospital Reports," in the" American Journal of the Medical Sciences," and his
clinical lectures have appeared in the "Medical and Surgical Reporter" and the
"Philadelphia Medical Times."
Edited Appletons
Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM
Da Costa's
photo is in the composite Jefferson Medical College
faculty CDV below, top center.
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