Gamgee Tissue

Gamgee Tissue

Gamgee Tissue is a surgical dressing invented by Dr. Joseph Sampson Gamgee in Birmingham, England, in 1880.

Gamgee Tissue has a thick layer of absorbent cotton wool between two layers of absorbent gauze. It represents the first use of cotton wool in a medical context, and was a major advancement in the prevention of infection of surgical wounds. It is still the basis for many modern surgical dressings. The name is a trademark, and has been since 1911.

Tolkien

In Birmingham, "Gamgee" became the colloquial name for cotton wool, which possibly led to the character name (Sam Gamgee) in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings".

The connection is not certain: in Appendix F to "The Lord of the Rings", Tolkien mentions, but at the same time denies, the reading of "Gamgee" as a pun relating to the name of Sam's wife, Rosie "Cotton". He further elaborates the 'real' Westron names of which 'Gamgee' and 'Cotton' are translations.

However, in the same section Tolkien also addresses "hobbit" (which was certainly created first and translated afterward, as described in Tolkien's own comment on the initial writing of "The Hobbit") and "Brandywine" (an obvious English pun on the Elvish "Baranduin", 'justified' as translation of a similarly alcoholic pun in Westron). In this context we may suspect that the Professor is speaking tongue-in-cheek; the "Gamgee" entry is phrased such that it can be read as a poker-faced, academic way of pointing out that the joke is there, whether or not he intended it.

References

* "Absorbent and medicated surgical dressings", J. S. Gamgee, in The Lancet, London, 24 January, 1880
* "The Lord of the Rings" volume III, "The Return of the King". Appendix F, part II (page reference varies by edition).


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gamgee tissue® — /gamˈjē tishˈoo, ū or tisˈū/ noun (sometimes without cap) a type of wound dressing consisting of cotton wool between two layers of gauze ORIGIN: JS Gamgee (1828–86), English surgeon who invented it …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gamgee tissue — Gam·gee tissue (gamґje) [Joseph Sampson Gamgee, British surgeon, 1828–1886] see under tissue …   Medical dictionary

  • Gamgee Tissue — trademark for a surgical dressing consisting of a thick layer of absorbent cotton between two layers of absorbent gauze …   Medical dictionary

  • Gamgee — may refer to: *John Gamgee, English physician, developer of Glaciarium and Zeromotor, a perpetual motion machine *Arthur Gamgee, English physiologist *Sampson Gamgee (1828 – 1886), English physician *Gamgee Tissue, a type of surgical tissue… …   Wikipedia

  • Tissue — A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus, The bone marrow is a tissue; Connective tissue… …   Medical dictionary

  • Gamgee — Joseph Sampson, British surgeon, 1828–1886. See G. tissue …   Medical dictionary

  • Sampson Gamgee — Dr Joseph Sampson Gamgee, MRCS, FRSE (born 17 April, 1828, Livorno, Italy; died 18 September, 1886) was a surgeon at the Queen s Hospital (later the General Hospital) in Birmingham, England. He pioneered aseptic surgery (having once shared… …   Wikipedia

  • Samwise Gamgee — Tolkienchar character name = Samwise Gamgee character alias = See names and titles character title = Ring bearer character race = Hobbit character culture = Shire hobbit character birth = April 6, ME date|TA|2980The date of Sam s birth in The… …   Wikipedia

  • Science and invention in Birmingham — Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom. It is one of the country s principal industrial centres and has an impressive history of industrial and scientific innovation.16th century1547: Although no record is kept to indicate… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”