Austin Meldon

Austin George Meldon (26 August 1844 – 28 April 1904) F.R.C.S., D.L. was an Irish surgeon and writer.

Austin Meldon
Born	26 August 1844 Dundrum, Dublin
Died	28 April 1904 (1904-04-29) (aged 59) Dublin
Occupation(s)	Surgeon, writer

Career

Meldon became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland in 1864.^[1] He became a Licentiate of the King and Queen's College of Physicians in 1865. Meldon authored medical papers on cholera, diseases of the skin and gout.^[1] He was a member of the British Medical Association and attended the annual meeting in Dublin in 1887. Meldon married twice. He had two sons and one daughter.^[1] His sons were George Edward Pugin Meldon and James Austin Meldon.^[2]

Meldon rejected the uric acid theory as a full explanatory for gout. He promoted his own "neuro-humoral theory" which held that gout and rheumatism were caused by a depressed condition of the nervous system.^[3][4][5]

Meldon was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery.^[1]

Selected publications

• A Treatise on Diseases of the Skin and its Appendages (1872)
• Intravenous Injection of Milk (The British Medical Journal, 1881)
• Pathology And Treatment Of Gout (The British Medical Journal, 1881)
• A Treatise on Gout and Rheumatic Gout (1886)

Awards and recognition

Meldon was a double gold medallist in surgery and midwifery and first prizeman in anatomy at the Catholic University Medical School.^[1] He was appointed surgeon to Jervis Street Hospital, a position he held until his retirement.^[1]