118 



MKDICINE 



Continent. Hospitals, moreover, tin- special contri- 

 bution of Christianity to the relief ot tin- sick or 

 phyiclly injured, now liecanie seat* <if clinical 

 stiidv. Itiilv lending the way in her celebrated 

 s.-hool of I'adua. which then liegan to attract 

 students from all countries. I'hysics, which re- 

 1 a frmili impulse at the Renaissance, had 

 also it* effect on biology ami medicine (titlilco 

 anil Cimalpinns representing in Itiilv what Bacon 

 ami Harvey represented in Kngland a sounder 

 scientific method mi the one hand and a mme 

 penetrating physiological research on the oilier, 

 leading to the discovery liy Harvey of what 

 CwoalpiniiH and others had dimly adiiinhnited. 

 tin- circulation of the Mood. ( 'oncurrently with 

 the mechanical contribution to biological and 

 medical study, that of natural history was equally 

 important, pharmacy in |wirticular receiving new 

 accessions, notably cinchona bark, which found a 

 place in the dbpMMteriai or phvnwaopoiai now 

 beginning to multiply, l.ove of system, however. 

 a perennial hindrance to medical progress, was no 

 lem prolilic than imluctive research, and so, con 

 temporaneoiisly with Harvey, we have m\-tii- 

 such as Van tlelmont, who, like Paracelsus, left 

 no enduring mark on sound medicine beyond en- 

 couraging independence of authority ami innova- 

 tions in treatment. The latro-meclmnical school 

 was another development in the theorising direc- 

 tion, its most prominent names lieing tin- 

 politan Borelli. the Roman Bagln i, and tile Scottish 

 Pitc.iirne. Physiology is more indebted to these 

 quasi.scientilic systematise than therajieutics. 

 which, however. i< under distinct obligations to 

 another school, the lalro cheiniciil, whose Dutch 

 foumler, Sylvius, applied to treatment the results 

 of the improved biology and chemistry. He had 

 many followers in (Jermany as well as Hollaml : 

 but his ablest dUciple was the Knglish Willis, 

 who worked permanent good in the examina- 

 tion of secretions, to Hay nothing of his still 

 classic account of diaries and of nervous maladies. 

 Reaction against the theorising tendency was led 

 by Sy.lenham, whose guide in pi act ice \va~ Hip 

 pocrateft, with his 'natural history of disease.' 

 Nature he held to have a self rest. .ring |>er, 

 which it wan the physician'* duty to watch and 

 assist. As a practitioner Sydenliam was especially 

 great, while hi* descriptions of disease gout, for 

 example are those of an artist in medicine, lint 

 it was in his rejection of theory and as nil observer 

 and utiliser of facts that his InflaMM* was soundest. 

 Coming as it did after the anatomical, physiological, 

 anil chemical work of the previous general inn. it 

 gve practical direction to so much of it as hail 

 stood the clinical test 



Theorv, however, is too attractive for ingenious 

 minds to be long idle, ami again we lind nn-dicine 

 turning into 'the high /irmri road.' The laiio 

 meciianical school underwent something like a ie 

 vival. thanks to the brilliant astronomy of Newton 

 and the alile advocacy of I'itcairne and his pupil 

 Clu'viie Sydenlmm's example, however, was still 

 |iwerlnl enough to ctirli the theorising tendency. 

 no that enthusiastic malliemaliciaiis like Mead did 

 .illow their loie of hypot bet ical y inint't ry to 

 .e their priwticf. '('lie next great name in 

 me.li.-ine i that of liocrhaavc of l^-yden. a disciple 

 of Hip|NM'rat and Sydenliam. familiar with all 

 that was valuable in other s,-| l<H i|.. but strenuous 

 in hi pursuit of anatomical and physiological fact, 

 in which h worked a.idiioiily with the micro 

 . A a clinical lecturer he was the forerunner 

 of the itKxt refined teaching of the modern day, 

 ami hi diniijiip wan resort**! t<> by aspiring students 

 of evi-rv country. The love of uy-tnin which 

 he shaml with no manv of the mastermind* 

 of mlicine is uren in hi- Imtiiutinnn, long a 



text-hook, but now, like his Aphorisms, guper- 

 s.-.le.l by the juster knowledge of which he waa 

 the pioneer. Among his pupils was Van Swieten, 

 founder of the Vienna school, while conteni|n>- 

 rary with him were Hoffmann and Staid, both of 

 them profetwiors at Halle, in advance of their time 

 an chemists, anil enthusiastic systematise, the 

 former eager to reconcile the 'spiritual' with the 

 ' materialist ic ' view of nature, the latter Iwnt on 

 eliminating the 'material' from man and making 

 the ' psychical ' the essence of his Keing. 



1'liysiology and rational medicine made a new 

 start under the all accomplished Swiss Yon 

 Mailer, who.se teaching prevailed for good in 

 spite of recurrent outbreaks of the systema- 

 Using tendency. Muscular irritability, to the 

 exclusion of the hy|M>thetical nnima, and as dis 

 tingiiished from nervous sensibility, was a dis 

 covery of his which threw fresh light on living 

 movements, while medicine proper owes to him a 

 series of experiments, lictter appreciated by later 

 science, on the inilnence of drugs on the healthy 

 subject. Morgagni of Itologna laid practic 

 medicine under yet more lusting obligations by 

 his elaborate work in morbid anatomy, of which 

 he may almost l>e regarded as the creator. His 

 De ABMM > Caiuis Mortmrum may still lie con- 

 sulted with advantage, followed up as it was and 

 it- results extendiil by other pathologists. the 

 Scotsman Baillie in particular. From the sound 

 leading of Von Halfer and Morgagni a partial 

 deflection was made by Cullen of Kdinbiirgh, an 

 expositor of rare ability. His I.nn-.t >,/' t/ir I'm 

 of Pfit/sir and his larger Nogoloyy were a skilful 

 adaptation of the new physiology and pathology to 

 classification and theiapeniics, and from their 

 attractive clearness were long in favour with 

 teacher and student alike. A more brilliant, 

 though far less judicious syslcmaliser was his pupil 

 John Brown, father of the Bninonian system, of 

 which the keynote is the part played by 'excit- 

 ability ' in health and disease. I'o maintain this 

 projierty at its normal strength was the object of 

 the physician, who, indeed, in 97 per cent, of the 

 diseases (nought before him. hail to make his 

 treatment a 'stimulating' one. The superficial 

 simplicity of the system explains its wide accept 

 ance ami tenacious vitality, though it- popularity 

 was always greater in Italy and Germany than in 

 (Jreat Britain. Another exemplar of the systetna- 

 tising spirit in the name century wits llahnemann, 

 tin- creator of the Homo-opathic school. Dwelling 

 chiefly on the symptoms of disease, he constructed! 

 an claliorate scheme of therapeutics I see HoMCEO- 

 I'ATHY), and benefited practical medicine, even as 

 Brown did, by favouring a milder than the so-called 

 heioic treatment. 



Before i|iiitting the Istl, century, its contribu- 

 tions to special departments of medicine must lie 

 noticed. In Italy Valsalva and I.ancisi did good 

 service, the latter b\ IMS observations on the causes 

 of sudden death, including cardiac and aneuiistnal 

 lesions, while Allx-itini was also meritorious in 

 the same walk. (leniianv produced Auenbingger 

 of Vienna, author of direct 'percussion.' In 

 Britain state medicine owes its .-tart to Baker, 

 followed up by .leniier. whose discovery of \accin.-i 

 lion ix memorable not only for its prevention of 

 smallpox, but for its inilnence on the study of in- 

 fectious disease. I'lingle. ably preceded by Ilnx- 

 hani, enlightened the profession on fever-, especially 

 as occurring in prisons and camps: and Kothergill 

 on putrid sore throat ('diphtheria'! and tic 

 douloureux, and Hcbcrdcn in therapeutics did 

 honour to the Fugli-h school. 



Tin- llllli cent in y opened with a sound preference 

 for inductive research over premature generalisa- 

 tion, and France, in the Itockgniund for many 



