The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-03

The end Of the Eighteenth Century was
made notable by one OF the most remark
able and bene1cent discoveries which has
ever blessed the human race, the discovery
Of the means of preventing smallpox. On
May IA. 1876. Doctor Edward Jenner inocu-
lated James Phipps. When we remember
that 100000 persons died in a single year In
the Russian Empire from smallpox; that
In f77 in Iceland. out Of q population Of
$1,000. 60 per cent, or 5000 died: that In
Jenners time "an adult person who had not
had smallpox was scarcely met with or
heard Of in the United Kingdom, and that
owing to his discovery smallpox is now one
OF the rarest diseases" the strong words 1
have used seem fully justified. But the
Eighteenth Century was not to witness the
End OF progress In medicine. The advances
In the Nineteenth Century have been even
more startling and more .beuefcent. What
these advances have been in the depart
ment Of medicine has been related by Pro-
lessor Osler. 1t is my province to speak
only of surgery.
The first advance which should be mem
TONED Is a fundamental one; namely, meth
DDS OF medical teaching. At the beginning
of this century there were only three medi-
cai schools In the United States, the Medi-
zeal department Of the University of Penn
sylvania. established in 1765: the Medical
Department of Harvard, established in I7S3,
and the medical department of Dartmouth.
established in 1871. The last report of the
Commissioner Of Education gives a list of
los medical schools now In existence in this
country, many Of them still poorly equipped
and struggling for existence, but a large
number Of them standing in the first rank,
with excellent modern equipment, both In
teachers, laboratories. hospitals and other
facilities.
HI first step has been the establishment
In connection with most schools of general
hospitals in which the various teachers In
the college should be the clinical Instructors,
and where the students would have the
means not only of hearing theoretically
what should be done to the sick. but OF
actually examining the patients under the
supervision Of their instructors. studying
the cases so as to become skilled in reach
Ing a diagnosis and indicating what in their
opinion was necessary in the way either of
hygiene, medicine or surgical operation.
Another step which was equally important.
mo In some respects even more SO, has been
she establishment of laboratories connected
with each branch Of instruction. A labora-
rory OF anatomy (the dissecting-room) every
medical school has always had. but all the
other laboratories are recent additions.
In all these laboratories. instead Of simply
nearing about the experiments and observa-
lions. each student is required to handle the
drugs. the chemicals. the apparatus, to do
nj the operations. to look through the mi
oroseope, etc--in other words. to do all
tina which is necessary for the proper un-
derstandins of the case in hand. In fact.
1t may be said that. in view of the oppor-
tunities and the requirements OF moderu
hospitals. IT is undoubtedly true that a hos
pital patient. the poorest of the poor, often
has his case more thoroughly studied and
more carefully treated than the wealthy
patient who Is attended at his home.