Ruth Skelton

Ruth Filby Skelton (d. 1980)^[1] was a British biologist who was one of the first women elected to the Physiological Society in 1915.

Life

Skelton earned a BsC from University College London.^[2] She was active in the Chelsea Physical Training College Old Students' Association in the 1900s and 1910s.^[3]

In 1915, when the Physiological Society had voted to admit women, Skelton was proposed for membership by Jospeh Barcroft along with Florence Buchanan, Winifred Cullis, Enid Tribe, Constance Leetham, and S.C.M. Sowton.^[4] Skelton’s first paper with the Journal of Physiology came in 1921.^[5]

By that time, she had made several publications about her work at the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine. She studied urine production and the prevention of scurvy there. One of her notable contributions was a collaboration with Harriette Chick in which they used guinea pigs to determine the antiscorbutic properties of foods.^[6]

References

1. "No title" (PDF). The Gazette. p. 3773. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
2. Tansey, Tilli (2015-01-15). "Women and the early Journal of Physiology". The Journal of Physiology. 593 (2): 347–350. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2014.288258. ISSN 0022-3751. PMC 4303378. PMID 25630254.
3. Webb, Ida M. (2002-11-01). The Challenge of Change in Physical Education. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-69987-1.
4. "Women in physiology". The Physiological Society. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
5. Skelton, Ruth (1921-11-18). "On the relation of pulse pressure to the output of the heart". The Journal of Physiology. 55 (5–6): 319–321. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1921.sp001975. ISSN 0022-3751. PMC 1405344. PMID 16993516.
6. Jr, Gerald F. Combs (2012-04-20). The Vitamins. Academic Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-12-381981-9.