The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1902-11-05
OSTEOpATHY AND ANATOMY
Views OF Dr.. Carr. Editor ol
Medical Journal

tIce OSt6Opathy unless ne Is. ne Is
the fellow who, when a patient pre-
sents himself. goes 10 work to find
out exactly what the trouble is. He
looks upon a man as an anatomical
structure consisting of framework
of bones, a network of nerves, a
web of lymphatIc ducts, a comrlica-
tion of ligaments, blood vessels and
viscera. TO untangle and locate all
the multifarious organs and tissues
is his business.
He goes to work to heal a sick
man much the same as an engineer
would fix his locomotive. he finds
nerve crossed or stretched. He
finds muscles tense or strained. He
finds bones disloeated, or partly dis
located. He finds cartilages mis-
placed. He finds thousan things
that the. average physician would
never discover, never dream of.
Hence it is that the osteopathist
must necessarily be a good anato-
mist.
AS a rule, these doctors carry the
study of anatomy much further than
the allopath, the electic or the
homeopath. Even the most ex-
perienced surgeon knows nothing of
anatomy in comparison with the
educated osteopath. 1t may be that
many of the cures of the osteopath
are imaginary. 1t may be that much
they do in the treatment of patient
is needless or ridiculous, bat the
fact remains that in the study of
anatomy they are close students,
and in the diagnosis of disease they
exceed all other schools of practice.
When Garfield was shot by the
assassin Guiteau, some peculiar
symptoms presented themselves.
Several noted surgeons were in at
tendance, but they gave no heed to
these symptoms. The symptoms
were peculiar numbuess on the
inside of the thighs and a part Of
the scrotum, together with "A curious
feeling in the bottom Of the feet
which the President himself de-
serbed as tiger claws. The Presi-
dent recited these symptoms and
they were reported in the news
papers. The doctors in attendance
knew nothing Of their Significance
aud probably did not take them into
account at all.
The professor Of anatomy in the
B 4 M I'll SHY III 4 Ft3&i = : j y Aastehy NfhHs
happened TO be a close student of
anatomy, read in the newspapers the
account of the Presidents symp-
toms BY reading the account this
anatofntst was aole to locate the
injury which the bullet made, II
will be remembered that the doctors
in attendance had great difficulty In
locating the bullet: in fact, they
never did locate it. 1t was never
revealed during the life OF the Pres
ident where the bullet was lodged.
The doctors supposed il 60 be In the
right groin, but as matter OF fact
the bullet bad crushed the fourth
lumbar vertebra and lay close TO the
backbone on the left side OF the
body.
But this anatomist, who never
saw the President at all, aided by
the newspaper account alone, loeat-
ed the bullet exactly. The second
dav after the President was wounded
lie drew chart, showing the course
of the bullet, the injury 1t had done
and it's lodging place. He presented
this chart TO numerous other pro-
fessors who made afiidayits tn the
fact. After the post norton re-
NEAiEu Ifldk El4iS httAN'AiiHt 69
right, the whole account was pub
lished in the medical journals.
Had the doctors known where the
bullet was located, their treatment
Of the President would have been
considerably different. Had they
| known where the bullet was, "A
drainage might have been estab-
| lished preventing the accumulation
| of pus. The doctors were trying 10
drain 1t from the groin below the
entrance Of the bullet. Conse-
quently, everything they did to Sc
cure drainage from below was
| adverse to the Presidents recovery.
AS Is well known, President Gar
| field died of septicemia; that is TO
saw, he died from the effects of the
reabsorption of pus which was lo-
Gated in the pus cavity where the
bullet lodged. Had they known
where the bullet was, they would
either have established drainage by
cutting in upon the bullet through
| the back, or else have established
the drainage through the track OF
| the bullet. In other words, had
| these doctors who attended Presi-
dent Garfield been good anatomists,
they would have done much more
toward saving the Presidents life.
1t Ia possible, of course, that his life
could not have been saved even II
they had known where the bullet
was, but 1t is also certain that they
could have treated the case much
more intelligently.
We venture the assertion that
were such an accident to occur to-
day and a good osteopathic physf-
clan be called, he would be able from
the symptoms alone to locate the
bullet Emerging near the fourth
| lumbar vertebrae there are some
nerves which supply the portion OF
the body where the President located
his symptoms. 1t was the disturb
ance of these nerve roots that
caused the symptoms In parts OF
the body 80 distant from the wound.
An osteopath would have known
this at once because he makes q
study of anatomy. Hell a thorough
student of the machinery of the
human body.
The study of anatomy to the ordi-
nary physician is almost super
| fluffy. That fellow who goes through
the country with a bottle of tablets
can give them out just as well
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