Hugh Owen Thomas, and his condemning of bonesetting-"The lady doth protest too much, methinks": A reexamination.

Hugh Owen Thomas (1834-1891) is considered to be the father of British orthopedics. Hugh Owen Thomas came from a bonesetting family in Anglesey, Wales. Although raised and taught in the methods of bonesetting, he, later on, came to harshly condemn bonesetting, both by unqualified bonesetters and qualified medical practitioners as well.

The role of Edward Harrison's (1766-1838) disciples, Thomas Engall, John and George Epps, Charles Hoyland, John Evans Riadore, John Robinson and John Baptiste de Serney in the treatment of spinal deformity in the Victorian medical world.

Edward Harrison was a distinguished and innovative physician, an educationalist who had a profound influence on the treatment of spinal deformities. He founded the first infirmary for the treatment of spinal diseases in London in 1837. Little is known of this institution but much of Harrison's legacy rests with his disciples who followed Harrison's principles of treatment to treat spinal deformity.

The portrait of Dr Edward Harrison MD (1766-1838).

The portrait of the London and Horncastle Physician Edward Harrison, painted and displayed in 1823, was editorially criticized by one of the medical journals of the time. After Harrison died the portrait remained in the family estate until 1938, after which it was presented to the National Gallery of Ireland. The image of Dr Harrison had never been displayed in any of his medical writings, nor in any other medical historical works, until 2008.