The Hand

Charles Bell's 'The Hand, its Mechanism and vital Endowments, as Evincing Design' was the first monograph on the human hand. The famous Scottish anatomist, surgeon and physiologist is known as one of the first physicians to combine the scientific study of neuroanatomy with clinical practice. From 1812 to 1825 he ran (together with his brother) the 'Great Windmill Street School of Anatomy'. Three years later Bell (1774-1842) helped to found the `Middlesex Hospital and Medical School`, and became, in 1824, the first professor of anatomy and surgery of the College of Surgeons in London. And in 1829 he was invited to be first professor of physiology at the new King's College in London.