The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-10-14
Doctors Meeting.

The Shiawassee County Medical So
ciety held their regular meeting in
Owosso Oct. 4th. Notwithstanding the
severe electrical storm which prevailed,
the attendance was large and the meet
ing proved to be one of great interest.
DIR. E. III. Bailey, of Corunna, read a
paper on the Life and Labors of John
Hunter" the great British surgeon.
Hunter was a Scotchman, born in La
markshire in 1928, and as Psychologist
and surgeon combined stands unrivalled
in his century. He was gifted with
powers of mind which rendered him in
dependent of the scholastic training re-
quired by most others. He began his
medical career by making dissection for
his brother, William Hunter, who was
most noted London physician, and be-
came so expert in his work that he. was
offered lectureship which he declined.
Among his other labors he solved the
problem of the descent of the testes in
the foetus; proved the function and i'm
portance of the Emphatic system; traced
the ramifications Of the nasal and OIL
factory nerves, studied the placental
circulation; entered the army and stud
led gunshot wounds; proved that bones
grow from their ends and circumference
by the removal of calcareous material
by the absorbents, making room for
fresh osseous deposits. Such men as
Jenner, Abernethy, Cline, Earl, Ashley,
Cooper, each of whom was remarkable
in his own particular sphere, were
Hunters pupils.
He inaugurated a method of treating
popliteal aneurism which awakened the
attention of all the surgeons of Europe,
and has been the means of saving hun
dreds of lives. He was by all odds the
best comparative anatomist of his time.
He established museum for his biolog-
ical specimens and investigations which
was afterward purchased by the govern
ment. He was an untiring worker. To
think was his delight. His mind was
framed for investigation. The last
years of his life his annual income was
between $4,000 and $4,000, most of
which he spent in his researches. He
died suddenly of Anymapectoris, at the
age of sixty-five in the very height of
his mental activity.
DIR. @. G. Darling, of the University
Michigan, lecturer on clinical surgery,
read paper on Diseases of the rectum
and their treatment. He described the
various diseased conditions to which
this part of the human anatomy is sub
ject, as for example, liberation, fistula,
assure, hemorrhage, cancer, etc., and
the causes Which gave rise to these var
led conditions, the symptoms which ac-
company each; the best method of dag
nosing these pathological conditions and
lastly how to operate on them success
fully; what kind of operation gave the
most satisfactory results. He described
the various operations for the cure of
the hemorrhoids, as for instance excis-
ion with torsion, injecting the tumor,
Utilization of the sphincter muscle, re-
moval by the clamp and cautery meth
cd, ligature method, etc. OF these var
ious methods he thought the Hgature
was the safest and simplest. He de-
scribed the after treatment and general
management of the patient. His paper
was very plain, simple and practical
and greatly pleased the society. Both
of these papers were discussed at length
by different members of the organiza-
ton.