Syme, James (1799-1870)

British surgeon. He became a fellow of the College of Surgeons in 1823. He soon gained a great reputation as a surgeon; many of his operations have become classics of surgery. He was a bold, resourceful, and skilful surgeon, and was one of the first to adopt ether anaesthesia. He was a champion of Joseph Lister's antiseptic method. In 1829 he opened a surgical hospital at Minto House, which soon rivalled the Royal Infirmary in reputation. Syme made many contributions to surgical literature, among them Treatise on the Excision of Diseased Joints (1831) and Principles of Surgery (1831).

Syme was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied anatomy under his cousin, Robert Liston. In 1833 Syme was appointed to the chair of clinical surgery at Edinburgh University and surgeon to the Royal Infirmary. In 1848 he accepted a similar chair at University College, London, but remained there for only a few months before returning to Edinburgh, where he reinstated in his old professorship, which he retained until 1869.

At the age of 18 he discovered a method of making waterproof cloth, but Charles Macintosh of Glasgow, Scotland, took out a patent for it and made a fortune.