2 3 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



years ago. In the various systems that were propounded by the leaders 

 in medicine, principles that were more or less true in a limited field 

 were taken to be of universal applicability. Medical science and art 

 can not, however, be reduced to one or a few general causes, laws and 

 formulas; each disease is a problem by itself, which must be worked 

 out in all its aspects independently of other diseases. Hence the in- 

 tellectual labors of a host of ingenious and talented thinkers for ages 

 were wholly wasted, and effected no real advance in internal medicine, 

 because they employed fallacious methods of thought. 



Modern Medicine. — In the past seven or eight decades a radical 

 transformation has taken place in internal medicine, pathology and 

 therapeutics, which has put these subjects on the same high plane as 

 any of the modern departments of science. There was no sharp divid- 

 ing line of time between the old and the modern periods, but the new 

 medicine developed gradually simultaneously with the decline of the 

 old. The difference between the two depends on radical differences in 

 logical method; modern medicine is developed by inductive, objective, 

 empirical methods of attaining knowledge, the old doctrines were a pro- 

 duct of theorizing and speculation. The evolution of modern scientific 

 medicine has taken place along several independent lines of develop- 

 ment. 



The first branch of internal medicine to be elaborated on sound 

 foundations was pathologic anatomy, its objective and obvious data 

 making it facile of study. The pioneer in this branch was Morgagni 

 (1682-1772) of Italy, whose epochal work on this subject appeared in 

 1761, when its author was 79 years of age. Other early workers in this 

 field were John Hunter (1728-1793) of London and Bichat (1771- 

 1802) of Paris. Bichat was followed by a brilliant group of French 

 investigators during the first few decades of the nineteenth century, 

 among the most eminent of which were Corvisart (1755-1821), 

 Laennec (1781-1826), Dupuytren (1777-1835), Andral (1797-1876), 

 and Louis (1787-1872). The work of this group for a long time gave 

 medicine a dominant pathologic-anatomical tone, especially in France. 



The physical examination of patients by modern methods had its 

 beginning in the introduction of percussion by Auenbrugger (1722— 

 1809) of Austria. His method was published in 1761, but attracted no 

 attention until it was revived by Corvisart (1755-1821) of France, 

 who in 1808 published a translation of Auenbrugger's contribution 

 which effectively brought it into use. The sister art of auscultation 

 was introduced in 1819 by Corvisart's pupil Laennec (1781-1826). 

 Since that time there have been gradually developed the multitude of 

 methods, physical, instrumental, chemical, microscopic and biologic, at 

 present in daily use in the examination of the sick. 



In the differentiation, clinical study and practical treatment of 



