Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-18
ROMANCE OF MEDICINE

| Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, speaking to
some London medical students, told
several stories illustrating what he
called "the romance of medicine"
The fashion of wearing wigs, for in
stance, was due to a skin disease which
produced bald patches on the august
head of Francis 1 of France. He got
a wig and his courtiers followed suit
lust as they all whispered when he had
an attack of laryngitis.
lone can trace for many years." says
the same authority in the Lancet, Ger
tainly from 1902, the inception of that
disease which killed Napoleon at st.
Helena in 1921. In 1902 Bourrienne
said L have often seen him at Malmai-
son lean against the right arm of his
chair and unbuttoning his coat ana
waistcoat eXclaim, What pain l feel
THAT was perhaps the first allusion
to his stomachic and hepatic trouble,
but from then onward it continually
appeared like Banquo at the banquet.
He could scatter the hosts of Europe
and alter it's Kingdoms, but he was
powerless against the mutinous cells
of his own mucous membrane.
again and again he had attacks of
lethargy, amounting almost to collapse
at moments when all his energy was
most required. At the crisis of Water
loo he had such an attack and sat his
horse like a man daZed for hours of
the action. Finally the six years of
St Helena furnish a clinical study of
gastric diseases which was all ex-
planned in the historical postmortem
examination, which disclosed cancer
covering the whole wall of the stomach
and actually perforating it at the he
patio border.
"Napoleons whole career was pro-
foundly modified by his complaint.
There have been many criticlsms-not
unnatural ones-of his petty, queru
lous and undignified attitude during
his captivity; but If his critics knew
what it was to digest their food with
an organ which had hardly q square
inch of healthy tissue upon it they
would perhaps take a more generous
view of the conduct of Napoleon. For
my own part l think that this fortitude
was never more shown than during
those years-the best proof of which
was that his guardians had no notion
how i'll he was until within few days
of his actual death.
History abounds with examples OF
what l have called the romance of
medicine. Look at the men, for eX-
ample, who were the prime movers in
the French revolution. They were
diSea Sed COmpany-a pathological mu-
scum. Was Marat's view of life tainted
by his loathsome skin disease, for
which he was taking hot baths when
Charlotte Corday cut him off? Was
the incorruptible but bilious Robe
spierre the victim of his own liver?
Was Couthon's heart embittered by his
disfigured limbs?
"These are the problems where med
icine infringes upon history and these
are the illustrations of the philosophy
which is only open to the medical
thinker. How many times do the most
| important historical developments ap-
! pear to depend upon small physical
/ causes? There is. for example. the
| case of the revocation of the Edict of
| Nantes BY this measure ,the whole
history of France has been profoundly
modified, because by that action there
were driven forth the Huguenots.
Now, how came Louis XIV, who
! had always held out upon this point TO
| give way at last to the pressure of
Nine. de Maintenon and his clerical
advisers? The answer lay in one of
| his molar teeth. 1t is historical that he
| had for some months had toOthache,
| carries, abscess of the jaw and finally
a sinus which required operation and
| it was at this time. when he was path
ologically abnormal and irritable, that
he took the step which has modified
I history. Great results may depend
upon a kings jaw or a statesman
| digestion"