Vacca pox to pexa vec: John Hunter's and Edward Jenner's contribution to oncolytic virotherapy.

Described as “the greatest physiologist the world has ever seen, 1 Keith A. What did John Hunter do for medicine? Being the centenary lecture to the Hunterian Society on October 8th, 1919. Br Med J. 1919; 2: 485-487 Crossref PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar ” there is no doubt as to the impact John Hunter has made to the practice of medicine and surgery in the world today. No less than his discoveries and novel practices is the mentorship and inspiration he has provided to a legion of physicians and surgeons, few more notable than Dr Edward Jenner, regarded as “father of immunology”. In Dr John Baron's publication of the “Life of Edward Jenner” in 1827, he describes the friendliest of relationships between him and John Hunter and describes the mentorship offered to Jenner by Hunter in his researches in medicine and natural history. 2 Le Fanu W. John Hunter to Edward Jenner: a lost letter discovered. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1985; 67: 266 PubMed Google Scholar Among the archives of the Hunterian Drawings at Royal College of Surgeons, stands a colored drawing of a finger bearing a pustule, inscribed by Hunter's handwriting: “cow or swine pock”. It is suggested that Jenner gifted this drawing to Hunter in 1788, whilst in his pupilage. Dr Jenner joined Hunter in 1771 at St George's Hospital in London and discussed his theories about cowpox. He explained how as an apprentice to a country surgeon in Sodbury in his teens, 3 Riedel S. Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2005; 18: 21-25 PubMed Google Scholar he observed the protection offered to dairymaids from smallpox perhaps due to cowpox exposure, and his theories of how inoculation of patients with the “poison of this disease” was found to “be a great improvement in the physic”. 4 Turk J.L. Allen E. The influence of John Hunter's inoculation practice on Edward Jenner's discovery of vaccination against smallpox. J R Soc Med. 1990; 83: 266-267 PubMed Google Scholar