Eponym:

James Douglas (1675-1742) was a Scottish anatomist, obstetrician, botanist, and avid collector of books. Born near Edinburgh, Douglas achieved a Master of Arts degree from Edinburgh University in 1694 and obtained a medical degree from Reims University in 1699 [1]. In 1700, he moved to London, where he worked treating patients and in 1730, he described what is now known as the recto-uterine tube [2].

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Scientific Contributions: 

 

Douglas was meticulous in his medical practice, recording detailed patient symptoms, making personal observations, and documenting treatment outcomes. While his treatments were grounded in Galenic principles, he was committed to scientific precision and often sought permission to perform post-mortem examinations on his patients [2]. Dr. Douglas's discovery of the recto-uterine pouch was a result of his detailed dissections and observations of the female pelvis [3]. 

 

His legacy in anatomy is the recto-uterine pouch. In 1730, he authored "A Description of the Peritoneum and the Part of the Membrana Cellularis which lies on its Outside, with an Account of the True Situation of all the Abdominal Viscera," in which he described this anatomical space [1]. The recto-uterine pouch is created by a peritoneal fold located between the rectum and the back wall of the uterus in females and thus the term "ligament of Douglas" was also used in the past [2]. The fold of peritoneum that creates the recto-uterine pouch is now known as the recto-uterine fold. James Douglas did not name the pouch after himself. The pouch of Douglas was named in his honor by later anatomists and physicians who recognized his contributions to the field of anatomy [2]. 

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