The Irish standard., 1912-10-12
Long List of Great Doctors Whose
Names Come Down Through
Corridors of Time.
Some in Modern Times Attained
Celebrity in the Advancement of
Medical knowledge.
DR.. O'Dwyer, an American, and q
Fervent Catholic, Made a Most
Practical Discovery.

ITO the Catholic doctor there Is a
icine, the recital of which should thrill
him with pride and enthusiasm. This
chapter" says DR.. Dupuy in a lecture
reproduced in the Morning Star" of
New Orleans, tells of the epoch
making achievements of the Catholic
doctors whose contributions make pos
sible the marvellous progress of med
ical science. It is interesting to trace
the well authenticated historic rec
ords and Gull from them the surpris-
ing evidences of what the men of our
faith have accomplished in anatomy
and in surgery. We must never for
get that the golden age In the devel-
opment of anatomy began with tho
labors of Colombo, Vesalius and
Eustacfius.
"They constitute the trinity Of great
anatomists Of the sixteenth century.
To pick out only the bright particular
stars amidst galaxy of great names
we find that the greatest surgeon Of
the twelfth century was Lanfranc
He was cleric of the Church. Para
celsius, the founder of Materia Med
lea, left. explicit directions in his will
for a requiem Mass, and bequeathed
a sum OF money for the shrine of the
Blessed Virgin. Here was sufficient
proof of his orthodoxy. Steno, whose
name is perpetuated in Steno's duct
| was so faithful to the Church that he
became a Bishop. John XXI, who
! filled the Papal chair in 1878, was in
! his early life a physician. He wrote
the first great treatise on diseases Of
the eye. This work still remains q
revelation of how much this investi-
gator did know about the organ Of
| vision.
"Malpighi, the founder Of compare
I tive physiology, completed Harvey's
work on the circulation Of the blood
by establishing the existence of the
! capillary circulation. He was a dis
tinguished Papal physician.
"Morgagni, who lived in 1862, is
considered the father of modern path
ology He was noted for his sincere
piety and showed his devotion to the
Church in practical way, as he made
| the sacrifice of allowing eight daugh-
ters to become nuns.
"Auenbrugger, 1922, faithful mem
ber of his parish church, gave to med
icine the new and priceless discovery
of detecting disease hidden within the
, chest by percussion, or by tapping of
the chest wall. Laennec, 1881, follow
ing up the ideas suggested by Auen-
! brugger, discovered auscultation which
| laid the foundation of our modern
,, knowledge in lung diseases. This orig
inal genius was not too scientific to
recite his rosary every day.
. Ambrose Pare, the first to practice
the legation of arteries, a life-saving
device which blazed new pathway
for surgery, was SO filled with rever-
ence and piety that he speaks of his
discoveries as inspirations which
came through Divine grace
Guy de Chauliac, who is regarded
as the father of modern surgery, and
! who became a sub deacon in the
i Church., was summoned by Pope In
nocent III. to organize the Hospital Of
the Holy Ghost in Rome. This step
initiated movement which even Pro-
testant Virchow pays tribute to in
acknowledging that it caused hospi-
tails to spring up in all parts of Eu-
rope.
Coming down to modern times, two
! illustrious Catholics, Muller and
Schwann, pursued pioneer investiga-
tions on cell life and pathology, which
did much to advance medical knowl-
edge at the end of the nineteenth CEN
tury. Claude Bernard, who made
lasting contributions to modern physi-
ology, remained faithful to his early
convictions and received a public fun
eral at Notre Dame, in Paris.
Shall we speak of Pasteur, who
! died with his prayer beads in his
hands, and whose work for afflicted
humanity 10 now household know!-