AxoVeXrPi9ia ' }         Experimental  Pharmacology.  511 
him," — a  statement  every  phase  of  which  every  medical  man  knows 
to  be  brimming  full  of  truth. 
Many  have  attempted  to  explain  the  cause  of  the  present  chaotic 
condition  of  pharmacology  and  therapeutics.  Medical  men  every- 
where, and  in  some  cases  men  prominent  in  the  profession,  have 
attributed  it  to  the  fact  that  the  teaching  of  prescription  writing  has 
been  neglected  in  our  medical  schools.  In  fact,  in  recent  years  more 
criticism  from  certain  sources  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  this  minor 
course  than  to  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  the  medical  curriculum. 
To  a  medical  pedagogue  such  criticism  is  amusing.  Even  in  these 
days  of  antipolypharmacy  the  teaching  of  the  elements  of  prescrip- 
tion writing  is  necessary  and  practice  in  the  same  is  desirable,  but 
one  cannot  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  physiological  action  or  thera- 
peutic application  of  drugs  through  any  amount  of  such  teaching 
and  practice. 
To  appreciate  the  present  state  of  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical 
sciences  and  the  ignorance  that  prevails  so  largely  within  the  pro- 
fession, it  is  necessary  to  recall  a  few  historical  facts.  As  every  one 
knows,  historical  medicine  began  with  the  Egyptians.  We  infer, 
however,  that  medical  practice  must  have  begun  with  the  origin  of 
the  human  race,  coincident  with  the  liability  to  injury  and  sickness. 
In  the  beginning  the  cause  of  disease  was  probably  attributed  to  the 
indwelling  of  evil  spirits.  One  may  reasonably  infer  this  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  so  believed  later  in  historical  times  and  the  belief  is 
still  prevalent  among  savage  tribes  and  semicivilized  nations.  Natu- 
rally the  original  method  of  treatment  consisted  of  prayers  and 
incantations.  The  making  of  noises  and  the  application  of  fire  were 
used  to  drive  the  demons  from  the  afflicted.  Material  methods  of 
treatment  came  to  be  used.  By  accident  it  was  found  that  certain 
chemicals  and  plants  seemed  to  be  of  value  as  means  of  cure.  Curi- 
ously enough,  the  more  disgusting  and  nauseating  the  substance  the 
greater  was  believed  to  be  its  potency  in  the  treatment  of  disease. 
A  materia  medica  was  developed  of  such  a  disgusting  nature  that 
civilized  people  must  revolt  against  it.  This  came  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  time  was  ripe  for  homoeopathy.  It  came.  The  reac- 
tion set  in.  The  pendulum  swung  to  the  other  extreme  and  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  witnessed  a  period  of  nihilism.  The 
great  Skoda  (1805-1881)  was  its  most  ardent  advocate.  However, 
it  was  he  who  paved  the  way  for  the  rational  study  of  pharmacology 
and  therapeutics.    He  introduced  the  methods  of  auscultation  and 
