Addison's disease results from primary adrenocortical failure. It was first described by Thomas Addison in his celebrated monograph published in 1855, which contains an illustrated description of eleven cases of the disease. After qualifying at Edinburgh University in 1813, Addison worked with a well-known dermatologist, Bateman, who was responsible for one of the first classifications of diseases of the skin; this probably stimulated his interest in the skin pigmentation that is so characteristic of Addison's disease.
