The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-10-14

battS6Hsss- s6R0ois.Y sssiis xnde eea6fsrsus
ehips, ara further evidences OF progress,
The search after and the inorsasing
number sof y Anesthetios. viii. in tins,
afford one Bhioh, I'm a3letiatiDg pain:
viii hs aatataly Without Esk. e 4
'.It msttgfs not In which Of thSqsve-
raj brsnchsS constituting the .curticu-I'
lum Of medical courses for the; degree
OF doctor Of medicine you search Tor
advance and progress, it will be found.
The Psychologist, in the comprehension
OF the, functions Of the organs compoS.
lag the human organism. through ex.
periments by, mechanical and chemical
means, maps out for the physician and
surgeon th0se" "cotiditions OF healthy ao.
tiontto which the diseased body must
be restored. The pathologist points tie
departure from health in the Eudiment-
ary formations OF the; human economy,
and, in the stillness Of the edead.house,
philosophers upon the modes, the ap-
pliances and remedies which may ward
off those evil forces that destroy life.
The anatomist, by patient dissection,
records the site. the size and relations
OF organs anl systems composing the
wondrous human frame; and the his.
tologist reveals with the microscope the
ultimate structure OF the several tissues
connecting his species to the lower
grades the animal and vegetable
worlds. rhe psyooloYist gives the-iudi.
cations OF health and disease, and the
varied forms of insanity, now philo.
sophioally treated, have dispelled those
barbaroas relics Of cruelty which
marked the mad-house of the middle
ages,- and has reduced, in our own;day,
q system which makes an asJluda,a re-
treat OF comfort and blessing to the
State. The unfortunate idiot is now
made to grow his brain into the realizs-
tion that he is no longer the brute, with
only instructive power to eat, sleep and
drink; and the afflicted epileptic is
taught that he is not to be regarded
only as one possessed OF the devil. The
medical jurist is now able, by reagents
and tests to point out the organic or
inorganic poisohs which have deprived
the State OF life of innocence and yir-
tue; and. by detecting guilt and crime,
award to the murderer the punish ment
prescribed by the law of the land. The
obstetrician can, by anp ,thetios, pro-
duce labor without pang, and save to
the mother and child much suffering in
those, operations requisite for the pre-
servaHon of life of one or tho other.
The gy yneoologist. with rapid strides, re-
lieves women of many ailments. and
gives her, that happiness which can
meyer be complete nm til her reproductive
organs are restored to their normal
fnnctions. The physician, in his daily
rounds OF practice, whether at the bed
side OF the i'll patient in the hospital
ward, or by the couch Of pain OF his
private patron, feels that he has gained,
through the distetic, hygienio and
medicinal improvements of this day,
that knowledge which " III better fit hitc
for preventing disease and for effec.i (
cures. He knows that the researohes in
anatomy, physiology and pathology bet
ter enable him to grasp the case before
him, and that his diagnosis and progno-
sls and treatment are not formed upon
that empiricism which would make him
bleed when he should feed, and cause
him to stimulate when he should give a
sedstive."
We conclude our extracts to-day from
this valuable pamphlet by one on the
beautiful surgical operation of re-
section. and with an eloquent reference
to the origin of the system of wayside
hoapitals, which have spread from Co.
lumbia all over this country md Europe:
'In no department OF surgery has so
much been done as in that. III which
ampatation has been supplanted by re-
section. The preservation of limb by
this method shows the high estimate in
which conservative surgery should be
held and adopted in ali practicable
cases. To give motion to an anchy ylosed
joint and restore its functions, is o
great advance over the immobile condi-
ton which formerly existed, or the de-
formity produced by. amputation. In
tuberculohs aud scrofuious diseases of
the cancellated structure Of bone, or in
necrosis involving the arm or leg bones,
to preserve the functions of the part by
this method, rathers than amputate, il
to effect that which should be the aim
OF surgery. To preserve. and not to
destroy, should ever be the maxim of
the surgeon; and the moro simple the
measure adopted for cure, the higher
the estimate in which he should be held.
Amputatlon through the contiguity of a
limb, and not in its continuity, gives
greater leverage power for Stimulating
the action Of part, and the conserva.