obstetrics until it was displaced by the wire saw devised for the purpose by the Italian obstetrician Leonardo Gigle. It is not clear where he graduated MD, which he included as a post-nominal from 1783. His name does not appear on the graduation lists of any of the Scottish universities or Trinity College Dublin, but it is possible that he obtained this qualification in Europe. His entry in the 1905 Dictionary of National Biography used the spelling "Aitkin", but all of his publications and other biographical sources use the spelling "Aitken." His portrait forms the frontispiece to Elements of Physic and Surgery, London 1779. Works He wrote: ‘Essays on several important subjects in surgery, chiefly with regard to the nature and cure of fractures,’ London, 1771, 8vo. 'Essays and Cases in Surgery,’ London, 1775, 8vo. 'Conspectus Rei Chirurgicæ,’ Edinburgh. 1777, 8vo. ‘Medical Improvement; an Address to the Medical Society of Edinburgh,’ Edinburgh. 1777, 12mo. ‘Elements of the Theory and Practice of Surgery,’ Edinburgh. 1779, 8vo, republished with the ‘Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic,’ thus forming 2 vols. entitled ‘Elements of the Theory and Practice of Physic and Surgery,’ London, 1783, 8vo (with portrait). ‘Outlines of the Theory and Cure of Fever,’ London, 1781, 12mo. ‘Principles of Midwifery or Puerperal Medicine,’ 1784, 8vo. ‘Osteology; or a Treatise on the Bones of the Human Skeleton,’ London, 1785, 8vo. ‘Principles of Anatomy and Physiology,’ Edinburgh. 1786, 2 vols. 8vo. ‘Essays on Fractures and Luxations,’ London 1790, 8vo. References Scottish surgeons 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish medical writers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Year of birth missing 1790 deaths