VII 



EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MEDICINE 

 THE SYSTEM OF BOERHAAVE 



AT least two pupils of William Harvey distinguished 

 J\ themselves in medicine, Giorgio Baglivi (1669- 

 1707), who has been called the "Italian Sydenham," 

 and Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738). The work of 

 Baglivi was hardly begun before his early death re- 

 moved one of the most promising of the early eigh- 

 teenth-century physicians. Like Boerhaave, he rep- 

 resents a type of skilled, practical clinitian rather than 

 the abstract scientist. One of his contributions to 

 medical literature is the first accurate description of 

 typhoid, or, as he calls it, mesenteric fever. 



If for nothing else, Boerhaave must always be re- 

 membered as the teacher of Von Haller, but in his own 

 day he was the widest known and the most popular 

 teacher in the medical world. He was the idol of his 

 pupils at Ley den, who flocked to his lectures in such 

 numbers that it became necessary to " tear down the 

 walls of Ley den to accommodate them." His fame 

 extended not only all over Europe but to Asia, North 

 America, and even into South America. A letter sent 

 him from China was addressed to " Boerhaave in Eu- 

 rope." His teachings represent the best medical 

 knowledge of his day, a high standard of morality, and 



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