Sir Andrew Watt Kay (14 August 1914 – 1 February 2011) FRSE, FRCPSG, FRCSEd was a Scottish academic surgeon who was Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Glasgow from 1964 to 1981.
He developed the augmented histamine test, which bore his name, and was widely used in the investigation and treatment of peptic ulcer disease.
He was educated at Ayr Academy, and was dux of the school, going on to study medicine at the University of Glasgow where he graduated MB ChB with honours in 1939.
As a result of research carried out in Illingworth's department he went on in 1944 to gain the degree of MD for which he was awarded the Bellahouston Gold Medal.
[1][4] He studied the secretion of gastric acid, thought at that time to be the most important factor in the development of duodenal ulcers.
This observation formed the basis for the work of Sir James Black in developing drugs which selectively blocked the effect of histamine in stimulating gastric acid production.
[9] He became consultant surgeon in charge of wards at the Western Infirmary in 1956 and two years later was appointed to the chair of surgery at the University of Sheffield.