Thomas Jaffrey McNair (1 March 1927 – 27 April 1994) CBE, FRCS, FRCSEd was a Scottish surgeon who acted as editor of Emergency Surgery, one of the most widely read textbooks on the subject.

Originally a general surgeon, in the latter part of his career he devoted his practice increasingly to colo-rectal surgery.

After schooling at George Watson's College he entered the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1944, winning the John Aitken Carlyle Bursar in his first year and graduating MB ChB in 1949.

[1] He was house surgeon to Sir James Learmonth and then worked in West Africa as doctor to a mining company gaining his first experience of emergency surgery.

[2] In 1958 he became senior registrar to the Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery, Sir John Bruce.

He was invited at this stage to become editor of the popular textbook Emergency Surgery, previously written by Henry Hamilton Bailey.

[6] He then spent a year in Chicago, training with Dr Warren H Cole at the Surgery Department of the University of Illinois before being appointed consultant surgeon to the Eastern General Hospital, Edinburgh.

In the early part of his career he was a general surgeon but latterly he specialised increasingly in colo-rectal surgery.

"[4] His surgical expertise and distinction was recognised in 1977 when he was appointed Surgeon to The Queen in Scotland.

For his contributions to examination reform he was awarded the silver medal of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

[8] Further recognition came with his appointment in 1988 as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Antitumor action of several new Piperazine derivatives compared to certain  standard anticancer agents.

Their son Alastair, became a lawyer and their daughter, Sally, a BBC television journalist.