Stephen Paget

Stephen Paget (17 July 1855 – 8 May 1926) was an English surgeon and pro-vivisection campaigner. On the basis of the works of Fuchs (see below), he supported the "seed and soil" theory of metastasis, which claims the distribution of cancers is not coincidental but reflects the microenvironment of the secondary site. He was the son of the distinguished surgeon and pathologist Sir James Paget.

Biography

Paget was born on 17 July 1855 at Cavendish Square, London. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1874, graduating B.A. in 1878 (M.A. 1886). He was a student at St Bartholomew's Hospital and obtained the F.R.C.S. in 1885. He was elected assistant surgeon to the Metropolitan Hospital and was surgeon at West London Hospital. He was surgeon to the Throat and Ear Department at Middlesex Hospital. he states "…the chief advocate of this theory of the relation between the embolus and the tissues which receive it is Fuchs…". Ernst Fuchs (1851–1930) an Austrian ophthalmologist, physician and researcher however, does not refer to the phenomenon as "seed and soil", but defines it as a "predisposition" of an organ to be the recipient of specific growths. In his paper, Paget presents and analyzes 735 fatal cases of breast cancer, complete with autopsy, as well as many other cancer cases from the literature and argues that the distribution of metastases cannot be due to chance, concluding that although "the best work in pathology of cancer is done by those who… are studying the nature of the seed…" [the cancer cell], the "observations of the properties of the soil" [the secondary organ] "may also be useful..."

Approbation of Louis Pasteur In addition to other publications, he also wrote a book about Louis Pasteur titled Pasteur and After Pasteur. Pasteur's life is discussed from his early life through his accomplishments. Paget wrote the book in memoriam of Pasteur's life, and in the preface he states, "It has been arranged to publish this manual on September 28th, the day of Pasteur's death. That is a day which all physicians and surgeons -- and not they alone -- ought to mark on their calendars; and it falls this year with special significance to us, now that his country and ours are fighting side by side to bring back the world's peace."

Vivisection

After his retirement from medical practice in 1910, Paget devoted much time to justifying vivisection. He was secretary of the Research Defence Society.

Criticism of Christian Science

In 1909, Paget authored a book, The Faith and Works of Christian Science, which exposed the fallacies, inconsistencies, and dangers of Christian Science.

Selected publications

The Case Against Anti-Vivisection. 1904.

Ambroise Paré and His Times, 1510-1590 (1897) Confessio Medici. 1908. The Faith and Works of Christian Science. 1909.

For and Against Experiments on Animals. 1912.