William Broadbent

Sir William Henry Broadbent, 1st Baronet (23 January 1835 – 10 July 1907 ) was an English neurologist who was a leading British authority in the field of cardiology and neurology. He also performed research involving diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer. In 1881 he was elected President of the London Medical Society and in 1887 President of the Clinical Society of London. Broadbent was a Physician-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Edward VII and the Prince of Wales.

Early life and education Broadbent was born at Longwood Edge in Lindley, now part of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. He was the eldest of seven children born to John Broadbent, a wool manufacturer and prominent Wesleyan, and Esther (née Butterworth). His younger brother was Colonel John Edward Broadbent .

He was educated at Huddersfield College before he decided to study medicine. He was apprenticed to a doctor in Manchester before studying medicine at Owens College, and the Royal School of Medicine in Manchester. He studied in Paris in 1857 and returned in 1858 to pass the M.B. examination at Manchester.

Career In 1859, Broadbent took up a junior post at St Mary's Hospital, London, with which he was associated for much of his career (1859–1896). The next year he was elected physician to the London Fever Hospital. In 1865, he was promoted to physician in charge of patients at St. Mary's, and full physician in 1871. It was through his work at St. Mary's that Broadbent earned his reputation as an expert pathologist and outstanding clinical teacher. His areas of expertise included neurology and cardiology, as well as cancer and typhoid.

Honours Broadbent received honorary doctorates from the universities of Edinburgh, where he obtained a M.D. with the thesis 'On the connection between diseases of the heart and apoplexy''', St. Andrews, Leeds, McGill and Toronto.

Personal life Broadbent married Eliza Harpin in 1863, and had three sons and three daughters: Broadbent inverted sign: Pulsations synchronising with ventricular systole on the posterior lateral wall of the chest in gross dilatation of the left atrium. Broadbent law: Medical law that states "lesions of the upper segment of the motor tract cause less marked paralysis of muscles that habitually produce bilateral movements than of those that commonly act independently of the opposite side".

Selected writings Cancer: A New Method of Treatment (London, 1866) The Practice of Medicine, (revised by Sir William Broadbent; 7th ed., London 1875) The Pulse (largely a reproduction of the Croonian Lectures, 1887), (London, 1890) Heart Disease, With Special Reference to Prognosis and Treatment'', (with John Francis Harpin Broadbent), (London, 1897)