Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-09-24
ABOUT MEDICINE.

Address of George r. wclch NJ D., before New Jersey
Medical Society.
"The modern physician, in his multitude
nous drugs, finds few remedies. The aver
age of human life is greater, but commerce
and the arts have given greater comfort,
better food, new thoughts, wider horizons,
and none of tire sciences can claim too great
share in the worlds advancements. Medi-
cine finds its highest achievements in the
prevention, not in the cure of disease. Can
Ger shows steady relative increase in Eng
land in New Jersey the average death-r rate
from this disease is one in titty-four Of all
the deaths that occur. Malarial diseases
spread in wider circles. Does not the rava-
ges Of tuberculosis go on? Who has won
eminence in curing yellow fever? The ex-
anthemata sweep into and out of every
neighborhood about once in five years.
Who cures rheumatism, or typhoid fever, or
chonic Bright's disease? Who never re-
coiled before a patient simmering in the hor
ribIe slow flame of py:rmia? And yet who
refrains from prescribing? The journals
TEEN with fortunate prescriptions; The nos
trums of manufacturing chemists push brag-
gart charlatanism to the wall. No mon
strosity of theirs so impudcnt that a dozen
college professors will not laud the mixture.
This was once the province of the clergy,
but we do things differently now.
"Thc young doctor believes III the magic
OF drugs, the old doctorregards the majority
of them as mschievous, while the patholo-
gist suspects them all. We hear Of the So
called cures, but rarely do we hear of the
failures. Truth can never be arrived at
until both sides are known. As to the
drugs, most Of them are poisons. Solutions
of the ma ority Of them destroy plants and
corrode the vital organs of animals. The
test Of new drugs upon animals, and the
argument from these to man, is in many
instances highly fallacious. Such drugs rs
morphia and atropia have slender effects Oh
birds and herbivorous animals, while many
others have frequently toXical effects, with
out corresponding symptoms ia man. As,
for instance, citric and tartaric acid, cam
phor, coccnlus, dulcimara and liq. ammon.
acct, poison fatally in their order cats, rab
bits, dogs and fish. Some drugs act differ
entity upon different animals. as colocynth.
which has feeble action on horses, sheep
and swine, while it purges dogs and rabbits
violently: cyclamen poisons fish, while pigs
can eat any quantity Of the root; hyoscya-
mus is eaten without harm by hogs, and
does not iujure sheep or COWS, while upon
dogs it has much the same effect as upon
man.
THE only way to arrive at the average
merit of new drugs or the old is to record
the results Of their application in the same
classes of disease under the varying cond-
tions Of hygienic surroundings over vast
areas. But this is not practicable, for the
majority of physicians are plodders, iol
lowers, men Of routine. One other means
presents itself-colleges of experimental
medicine, Conducted under the eyes of the
State, or the supervision of the highest
medical authorities Here should be rigor-
Gus system exact registration, frequent
comparison and correction. At the same
time we must recolect, for all our attain
ments, that but comparatively tHfte IS known
Of The natural history Of diseases. The ten
denty Of nature TO remedy Ills WtthoHt inter
ference 7Couid dstoHnd the medical Morld
couid IL be known aright. Hundreds of dis
eases would end in recovery il never drug
were given. We deceive ourselves with
cures The last drug gets the credit, where
none deserves it, On the other hand many
diseases have continued to be incurable for
ages. though even the wisest physician
would probably feel himself criminal not
to prescribe something. And given one
thing, TO give another is natural sequence.
"Even to give an ample margin, after
twenty-five leading medicines, as iron, 10
dine, quinine. strychnine, brandy and
opium have been selected from the mass of
drugs persistently thrust upon the proies-
sion, the rest might be in the flat sea SUNK
i = Il ;, 70 ~ No rraofar