The name Henry Gray is very much renowned in the domain of medical studies and especially anatomy. Every medical professional can attribute some fundamentals about him. Gray was professional anatomist and surgeon in England. He was born in the year 1827 in a place called Windsor castle in London. He spent the better part is live in Belgravia where he lived. This was due to the fact that his family had migrated Belgravia which was near to Buckingham palace where William IV resided.
The father of Gray was a deputy treasurer to William IV. At the age of 18 years, he joined the famous St. Georges hospital which is located at the popular Hider Park in the centre of London as a perpetual student (Richardson, 1976, p. 17). However, his early childhood history before this age is not yet clearly known up to date as well as where he got his insights to venture so intensively in the field of medical science that he perfected so well while so young.
While at this hospital, he worked hard and was known as been the most tireless and procedural worker who could carry out numerous landmark anatomical dissections without any external assistance. Therefore, following his handwork, he qualified to become a fellow member of the royal college of surgeons in the year 1848 (Gray, 1973, p. 32). In the same year also, Gray captured the college’s triennial award for his winning elaborate account for optic nerve of the human eyes.
During the subsequent year, he was awarded the highly coveted Astley cooper award as a result of his research thesis on study of the structure of the human spleen. By then, all those who knew Gray could confirm that he was a genius scientist with high level of intelligence compounded by great desire to discover the unknown and also improve on what is already known especially in study of human anatomy (Arnold, 1997, p. 9).
While in the position of a fellow surgeon in the royal society and still serving in St. Georges hospital, he produced several publication of his findings and novel discoveries in various journals including the philosophical transactions which was being published by the royal society. In the same period, Henry gray was elevated to become an instructor in hospital. Later, he become a lecturer in anatomy above been a curator in one of the museums in England (Postel, 2003, p. 25).
When he was hardly 31 years of age , Henry gray released his first book on structure and functioning of human body called the Gray’s anatomy that distinguished itself from other anatomy books of that time by having a lot details especially the diagrams and self explanatory illustrations. His success in the publication of this book that has won the hearts of many people who are studying medical sciences was basically as result of his prior publications in royal society journal.
After the publication of this book, he approached one of his close friends called Carter who was perfect in drawing to collaborate with him in the publication of a medical science students’ manual for anatomy (Myrna, 1994, p. 3). In this article, Gray did not fail where they successfully produced the manual together. Again, this manual also dominated all other anatomical texts of then. Unfortunately gray died in the year 1861 at a tender age of 34. Needless to say, his paramount achievement remains his books by the name Gray’s anatomy that has remained to have a wide recognition globally (Koenig, 2001, p. 21).
Reference
Arnold Gary (1997) Insipid, Vain Monologue Reduces ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ into Film Corpe. The Washington Time, June 1, pp. 27 Gray Henry (1973) Gray’s Anatomy. London, Rotledge, pp. 32 Koenig Rhoda (2001) Gray’s Anatomy. New Statesman, Vol. 137, pp. 21 Myrna Brooks (1994) Exploring Medical Language, 3rd Ed. Mosby Lifeline, pp. 3 Postel Danny (2003) Gray’s Anatomy. The Nation, Vol. 277, pp. 25 Richardson Paul (1976) Henry Gray: A Biography. New York, Prentice Hall, pp. 17