John Reid began his medical studies by studying anatomy under Dr William Thomson at his amatomical department on College Street. He then went on to take classes at the University of Glasgow and Portland Street School in order to receive his license from the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1833.

He spent the majority of his career as a general practitioner in Glasgow and was a member of the Glasgow Medico-Chirurgical Society. Reid heartily opposed the work of Joseph Lister into the antiseptic principle and often wrote reviews of his work in the Lancet. ]]>