Thomas Addis, 1881-1949, clinical scientist, hematologist and pioneering nephrologist: a brief biography

Abstract

Thomas Addis is an important figure in the history of nephrology. Born in Scotland and trained in Edinburgh, he came to San Francisco in 1911 to the new Stanford School of Medicine to run the clinical laboratory. Over the next 38 years, he made many contributions to renal physiology, the investigation of the structure and function of the kidneys in Bright's disease, and studies of kidney growth, hypertrophy and protein metabolism. Largely forgotten today, he was one of the first to use urea clearance as a measure of kidney function and was the first to systematize examination of the urinary sediment - the Addis count. He was also a leader in the use of diet and rest in the treatment of Bright's disease. Unknown to most nephrologists, before he came to the United States during the first 6 years following his graduation, he became one of the leading clinical investigators in hematology. His special interests were the mechanism of blood clotting and hemophilia. He was the first to transfuse fresh blood into a hemophiliac patient and show that this shortened the patient's clotting time. Addis was a great, if eccentric, personality as well as a great scientist. He was beloved by his many colleagues and students and was honored in his lifetime both in the United States and Great Britain.