Alexander Skene
Alexander Johnston Chalmers Skene was a
Scottish gynecologist who described what became known as the
Skene's glands.
He was born in
Fyvie,
Scotland, on
June 17,
1837 and died on
July 4,
1900 in his summerhouse in the
Catskills, New York.
At the age of 19, he came to America. He studied medicine first in
Toronto, then
Michigan, and finally at the
Long Island College Hospital in
Brooklyn graduating in
1863. After a brief military service he entered private practice in Brooklyn and advanced to become Professor of Disease of Women at Long Island College Hospital.
Skene wrote over 100 medical articles and several textbooks. He contributed many surgical instruments and improved on surgical techniques. Primarily, he is remembered for his description of the
Skene's glands at the floor of the
urethra. He also described their infection -
skenitis.
As a scupltor, Skene created a bust of
J. Marion Sims, which is on display in the lobby of the Kings County Medical Society. A bust honoring him is located in
Prospect Park Plaza (also known as
Grand Army Plaza).
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Paraurethral glands*
Skene's glandChesley LC: The evolution of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Downstate 1860-1980.1981.
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NY Park link
