He began his medical training under William Hartigan and George Stewart, leading Dublin surgeons.

He was elected a fellow of the RCSI in 1818 and then went abroad to complete his medical and surgical training.

[2] The greater part of Adams' anatomical studies were undertaken in the RCSI under Abraham Colles.

[4] His work focussed on cardiac, respiratory, vascular and joint diseases, and emphasised postmortem examination.

[5] He published a number of important medical texts, including Diseases of the Heart, but it was his work on gout, from which he suffered himself, that made him famous.