skilful surgeon and for his 1814 paper On the Fracture of the Carpal Extremity of the Radius; this injury continues to be known as Colles' fracture. This paper, describing distal radial fractures, was far ahead of its time, being published decades before X-rays came into use. He also described the membranous layer of subcutaneous tissue of the perineum, which came to be known as Colles' fascia. He also extensively studied the inguinal ligament, which is sometimes called Colles' ligament. He is regarded as the first surgeon to successfully ligate the subclavian artery. In 1837, he wrote "Practical observations on the venereal disease, and on the use of mercury" in which he introduced the hypothesis of maternal immunity of a syphilitic infant when the mother had not shown signs of the disease. Colles' principal textbook was the two-volume Lectures on the theory and practice of surgery. Colles's writings are important, though not voluminous. Some of his papers were collected and edited by his son, Mr. William Colles, and published in the Dublin Journal of Medical Science. Selections from the works of Abraham Colles, chiefly relative to the venereal disease and the use of mercury, comprise Volume XOII. of the Library of the New Sydenham Society, published in 1881. They are edited and annotated by one of the most distinguished Fellows of the RCSI, Mr. Robert M'Donnell. Colles's Lectures on Surgery were edited by Simon M'Coy, and published in 1850. In tribute to his distinguished career, Professor Colles was awarded a baronetcy in 1839, which he refused. Upon his retirement as Professor of Surgery, the Members of RCSI passed a resolution which included " We have also to assure you that it is the unanimous feeling of the College, that the exemplary and efficient manner in which you have filled this chair for thirty-two years, has been a principal cause of the success and consequent high character of the School of Surgery in this country." Abraham Colles and died on 16 November 1843, from gout. He was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin. Family In 1807, he married Miss Sophia Cope. His son William followed in his footsteps, being elected to the Chair of Anatomy in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1863. Another of his sons Henry married Elizabeth Mayne, a niece of Robert James Graves. His grandson was the eminent music critic and lexicographer H. C. Colles. His