The outstanding British surgeon Percivall Pott (1714-1789) and the first description of an occupational cancer

Abstract

The outstanding London surgeon Percivall Pott made numerous original observations. In 1775 he pointed out that many males who had been chimney sweepers while boys later suffered from scrotal cancer and linked this with irritation caused by soot, and thus identified the first cancer-causing occupation. Thus, he first described "chimney sweeper's cancer" and can therefore be regarded as a pioneer of occupational diseases.