The death on Monday of Sir James Mackenzie deprives the
science of medicine of one of its great figures. Sir James Mackenzie was, of course, one of the greatest heart .specialists of the age, and it is for his work in this field that he 'is 'chiefly known ; but his views on the general structure and character of the human body and 'the -nature of the nervous impulses which control it were original and challenging. He held always that-the, general practitioner, -in close .eontact with ordinary men and women, was the 'only reliable collector of data, and he acted on this theory when -he left London at the 'height of his reputation and establiShed, with the help of the local practitioners, •his Institute of Research at 'St. Andrew's. His work was not complete at the time of his death, but,much of it will certainly endure.
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