Abraham Colles and his contributions to anatomy

Abraham Colles is known among the medical community for his detailed description of Colles' fracture, one of the most common occurring skeletal injuries. It is remarkable that something as seemingly simple as the diagnosis of Colles' fracture had not been established until nearly 200 years ago. While that may have been his most well known accomplishment, Colles made several other contributions to medicine across multiple fields of practice. In the field of anatomy, he is also credited for his discovery and description of Colles' fascia and Colles' ligament. Less commonly known, however, are his clinical observations and offered treatment regimens for syphilis, as well as his achievement in performing the first surgery for axillary artery aneurysm. The current paper will review the life and contributions of this early surgeon and anatomist.