HISTORY OF THERAPEUTICS 19 



healing method (in contrast to the technocratic or artificial healing method). 

 He was born in Bamberg in 1793, was a professor and clinician in Wiirzburg, 

 Zurich, and Berlin from 1839 to 1859, and died in 1864. 



6. RADEMACHER 



System of Treatment. — Rademacher (born in 1772 in Hamm, 

 physician in Goch, on the lower Rhine, died 1849) is the founder of 

 the system of treatment based on experience, or the empirical 

 method. In his work, " Rechtf ertigung der Erfahrungsheillehre 

 der alten scheidekiinstigen Geheimarzte, '' he assumes, entirely upon 

 empirical grounds, the existence of specific relations between certain 

 medicines and certain individual organs. Diseases he divided into 

 two classes: "organic diseases" and '* universal diseases," and he 

 also recognized two corresponding divisions of medicines: "organic 

 remedies" with local action and "imiversal remedies" with multi- 

 ple action. He tested the effect of the individual organ remedies 

 and universal remedies upon the different diseases and named the 

 disease after the remedy found to be effective. The local diseases, 

 for example, were named: digitalis disease of the heart, chelido- 

 nium disease of the liver, and antimony disease of the lungs, while 

 the universal diseases were called: copper disease, iron disease, 

 saltpeter disease. In this way he caused the diagnosis to be based 

 upon the therapeutics. While the fundamental thoughts of the 

 Rademacher system concerning the importance of experience and 

 the specific local action of drugs may be acceptable, his nomen- 

 clature and many of his conclusions certainly are not. His influ- 

 ence upon therapeutics was therefore only temporary. 



Natural Healing Method. — The author of the natural healing method — 

 i.e., the drugless treatment of disease with water, diet, heat, exercise, rest, air, 

 and dressing — was Priessnitz (1799-1851). With reference to his method, see 

 chapter on hydrotherapy. In addition, the following are also to be mentioned 

 as followers of the natural healing method: Schroth (dry diet, dry-bread 

 cure), G. Jager (wool), Lahmann (cotton wool), and others. 



7. THE HOMCEOPATHY OF HAHNEMANN 

 Biographical. — Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homoe- 

 opathy, was born in Meissen in 1755. He practised medicine in 



