How Glasgow led the world in medical innovation

By Zuzanna Spiewak 

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Glasgow Royal Infirmary is recognised as not only one of the best hospitals in the world, but it’s also renowned for its historical significance dating back to the Victorian era.   

This summer the city will be featured on the small screen in a new adaptation of Guy McCrone’s trilogy, Wax Fruit. In the upcoming TV period drama, starring Martin Compston, the Moorhouse, husband and wife Arthur and Bel, along with their family deal with the social changes and challenges moving class throws up. You can expect childbirth dramas, infectious diseases and all manner of health crises that living in Victorian Glasgow implies. 

“The Royal” as locals called it, was a staple of the astounding architecture Victorian Glasgow was known for. Compared to Scotland's other hospitals at the time, it stood out due to its grandeur. In 1809, Scots Magazine described it as magnificent, even comparing it to Paris’ Hôtel des Invalides. While some of the original buildings have long been demolished, the discoveries made there have changed the world.  

And while Glasgow was Britain’s second city, it had more than its fair share of ills caused mostly by poverty and social injustice. 

Handwashing and hand sanitizers are the norm nowadays, but we have Joseph Lister to thank for it. It was in the Royal Infirmary that the first ever case of antiseptic practice occurred, something that changed medicine forever.   

In 1867, a young boy called James Greenless was knocked over by a horse and cart and had an open fracture of the tibia. This meant that the wound was open to infection, which in Victorian times usually meant death by sepsis. However, Lister had studied the germ theory of Louis Pasteur, which challenged the idea that germs and infection came out of nowhere as well as how to combat them.  

Lister put the theory into practice and after setting young James’ bone, treated it with carbolic acid. By regularly changing the dressings and applied carbolic acid, James made a full recovery with no sign of blood poisoning or suppuration. This was a massive step forward in medicine.  

Nealy 30 years later in 1896, the world’s first radiology department was established by John Macintyre at the Royal. He trained as an electrician before completing his degree in medicine, a combination of knowledge that made him the pioneer of x-rays.  

X-rays were first discovered in Germany by Professor Wilhelm Roentgen when he was experimenting on fluorescence produced in vacuum tubes. Even though the tube was completely shielded, the rays emitted still passed through it, creating a shadowy image on paper nearby.  

Roentgen approached Lord Kelvin, a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow about his discovery, but due to him being ill, he decided to pass it on to someone else. It was passed on to Macintyre, who was employed by the Royal Infirmary as a medical electrician. He quickly understood just how significant this discovery was.   

Just a few months later, after receiving permission from hospital managers, Macintyre established the first ever radiology department. Macintyre published 18 papers on the use of x-rays in 1896 alone, one of which was about the first ever image of a kidney stone in a patient, as well as a foreign body- a half-penny in a child’s oesophagus.  

In 1897, the first ever cinematic radiograph was created using x-rays, demonstrating the movement of a frog’s leg.