True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1856-07-16
Magendie on Medicine.

An American medical student, writing
from Paris to the American Medical GA
Zette for JLne, asserts that he once heard
Magendie-one Of the most eminent
French physicians and physiologists-
commence lecture somewhat in the fol-
lowing Words
Observation-Disclosures is great hum
bug. know it is called a science--s sci
ence, indeed! 1t is nothing like science.
Doctors are mere empires, when they are
not Charlatans. We are as ignorant as
men can be. Who knows anything in
the world about medicine? Gentlemen
you have done me the honor to come here
TO attend my lectures, and | must tell
you frankly now, in the beginning, that
| know nothing in the world about medi-
cine, and | don't know anybody who does
know anything about il. Don't think
for moment that / haven't read the bills
advertising the course of lectures at the
Medical School; l kno W that this man
teaches anatomy, that man teaches pa
thology, another man physiology. such a
one therapeutics, such another materia
medica-M bien! ct aprcs! What's,
known all about that! Why, gentlemen
at the school ofMontpelier, ,,(God know
it was famous enough in its day. they
discarded the study of anatomy, and
taught nothing but the dispensary; and
the Doctors educated there knew just as
much, and were quite as successful as
others. Irepeat it, nobody knows any
thing about medicine. True enough, we
are gathering facts every day. We can
produce typhus fever, for example, by in
jecling certain substance into the veins
of dog-that's something; we alleviate
diabetes, and l see distinctly, we are ap
preaching the day when phlhisic can b,
cured as easily as any disease. We arr
collecting facts in the right spirit, and
dare say in a century or SO the accumula
tion Of facts may enable our successors tc
form medical science but l repeat it tt
you, there is no such thing now as a medi
cal science. Who can tell me how t.
cure the headache ! or the gout! or dis
ease of the heart =? Nobody. Oh! yor
tell me doctors cure people. grant you
people are cured. But how are they
cured? Gentlemen nature does a grea
deal. Imagination does good DEAL
Doctors do-devlish little-when they
don't do harm. Let me tell you, gentle,
men, what did when ] was head physi.
clan at Hotel Deu. Some 3 or 1000
patients passed through my hands every
year. l divided the patients into two
classes with one, | followed the dispen
sary and gave them The usual medicines
without having the least idea why OIL
wherefore =; 10 the other, Igave bread pills
and colored water, without, of course,
letting them know anything about it
and occasion ally, gentlemen, | would Gre
ate third di vision, to whom gave moth
ing whatever These last would fret /;
good deal, they would feel they were
neglected, (sick people always feel they
are neglected, unless they are well drug
ged-the fools !! and they would irritale
themselves until they got really sick, bu
nature invariable came to the rescue, and
all the persons in this third class got well
There was little mortality among those
who received but bread pills and colored
water, and the mortality was greatest
among those who we're carefully drugget
according to the dispensary!"