Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-11

dignihed position Of a science, which bene-
fitted the progress of medicine. It Is diff
cult for US to understand why the discovery
Of the circulation Of the blood was not
made prior to this time. Pare had ligated
arteries to prevent hemorrhage 200 years
previous and why it was not established
that the blood was fluid is incomprehensible.
1t simply demonstrates how difficult 1t Is
to overcome prejudice. The ancients be-
lieved the arteries contained air, because
after death they were empty. William
Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation of
the blood, did not publish the results Of his
investigation till 1928, first submitting them
to fifteen years of proof. This naturally
revolutionized physiology. The capillary
circulation was described by Nal ighi in
1928. OF course this was possible only by
means of the microscope. No less remark
able was the discovery of the Emphatic
vessels. Peruvian bark. so universally en-
ployed as a specific for malaria, was first
used in the early part Of this epoch. Dur
ing this period ophthalmology was eulti-
waited In France, cataract was first recog-
nized and the diseases of the ear were first
systematically described. Altogether the
century showed marked progress, closing
with the teachings OF Sydenhan, the
English Hippocrates. The eighteenth CEN
fury was one of continued progress. The
eminent observers devoted more time to
miscroscopical work, studying the minute
structure Of the tissues and cells. Three
Of the most prominent were: Lieber Kuhn,
who invented the solar microscope with
which he was able to exhibit the circulation
Of the blood; Edward Jenner, who invented
preventive innoculation against smallpox by
vaccination with COW pox. which he nrst
did in 1896.
Nineteenth Century Progress.
About 1900 D. waterhouse, professor in
Harvard college, performed the first vacci-
nation in this country, the victims being
his four children. This period marks the
earliest example OF medical teaching in this
country. DR.. Cadwaladar. after his return
from a trip to Europe, made demonstra-
lions in anatomy. About 1850 the first
body was dissected in New York. DR..
Shipper Of Philadelphia laid the founda-
tion OF a medical school that finally de-
veloped into the medical department OF
Pennsylvania, which graduated the first
class, 1855. In 1868 a school OF medicine
was established in New York. The next
was the medical department of Harvard
college, 1882. The fourth was. established
in Hanover, 1897, being connected with
Dartmouth college. These were the only
medical colleges instituted in this country
In the eighteenth century. The first book
on American surgery was written in IT'S by
DR.. John Jones, the title being Wounds
and Fractures" The nineteenth century,
which has but recently made Its exit,
reached the climax of medical achievement.
nha ,,ost tpopor4onf auopk ~ the nina
teenth century was the announcement by
the immortal Hahmemann Of the therapeutic
law, "Similia Similibus C~urantur." For
sixteen years this master mind had been
graphing with this idea, and now, after
the proving Of twenty-seven drugs, he felt
the necessity Of publicly announcing that
he had established a fact that would put
therapeutics on q scientific basis. In 1880
Hahmemann was giving his profoundest at
tention to the evolution of a science in
therapeutics. An accomplished scholar In
medical and general letters. a profound
chemist, he became utterly dissatisfied with
the therapeutics of the day. One OF the
few bright spots seemed to him to be the
treatment of ague by peruvian bark. He
pondered much over the rationale OF this
curative action, so simple, so direct so
efeetual. How could other medicines be
| 80 ubCus U NOhAa bhhNA
treated? II occurred TO him to try the
effect OF this bark in health on his own
person. A fever was set up like that which
1t cured. The relation between the disease
producing and disease-ouring properties
was that Of similarity, It's operation, there
fore, was an instance of that similia simill-
bus which Hippocrates and others had
recognized as occasionally holding good.
Was it not possible then that all cures, ike
that of aRue by peruvian bark, might rest
upon such relationship between drug and
disease. so hat which had occasionally
been recognized in the past II put upon a
working basis might be recognized as a
scientific fact in therapeutics. The ques-
tion was reasonable, but only a questions
IL had TO be answered by observation and
experiment., by reviewing cures on record
and endeayoring to obtain new ones. Both
were fully carried out. Besides ransackins
literature for proofs, he carried out his
theory OF p~rovings upon the healthy so
that, while in 1896 but one drug had been