8 MR. percivall’s introductory lecture 
general principles of medicine (to which end all medical lectures, 
and instruction, of whatever kind, will, one way or other, tend), 
our next duty is to select the animal that is to be the object of 
our study, in order that we may apply these principles to it. We 
must make ourselves acquainted with the peculiarities in its 
anatomy; with the peculiarities in its physiology; and with 
those of its pathology: at the same time we must inquire into 
its natural history ; into its habits , natural and domestic ; and 
into every influential circumstance under which we may be viewing 
it. 
Now, gentlemen, with a view of shedding some additional 
light on what I have been laying down, as, in my opinion, the 
true groundwork of veterinary science, I shall bring before you 
(purely, as I said before, for the sake of elucidation) the often 
discussed cases of the surgeon and the farrier or groom as being 
respectively qualified for veterinary practice. From what I have 
just been saying, it will be evident enough to you, that both are, 
from certain important deficiencies, highly disqualified : let us, 
however, for the sake of comparison and elucidation, examine 
into their respective disqualifications. The surgeon walks into 
the domicile of the sick horse with all the self-confidence justly 
created in the mind by a conscious proficiency in medicine; 
and finding that the symptoms are such as to indicate consi¬ 
derable inflammatory action with disturbance of respiration, he 
orders that the animal be bled and purged and blistered: but 
judging from the seeming comparative powers of his own patient, 
he directs that five or six pounds of blood should be taken away; 
some sulphate of magnesia or soda in infusion of digitalis be 
given; and that some blister plaster be applied to the side. 
Now, the principle of this practice is, in itself, good : the error, 
all the way through, has lain in not being acquainted with the 
peculiarities of his new patient. Instead of drawing five or six 
pints, he should have abstracted ten or twelve ; instead of giving 
purgative medicine (which to a horse with such a disorder is 
dangerous), he should have exhibited sedatives alone ; and his 
blisters should have been many times stronger than such as he 
would find it necessary to employ in his own practice. All 
which has arisen simply from a want of knowledge of the pecu¬ 
liarities of the animal on which he was practising; a knowledge 
which to him is at all times of most easy attainment. 
In the case of such a man as a groom or a farrier being called 
to attend a sick horse, well acquainted as he may be, and pro¬ 
bably is, as to what the animal will bear in regard to bleeding and 
purging, and other ordinary operations, yet ignorant as he must be 
of any of the science of medicine itself, he cannot but run (even 
