Lecture, introductory to a course on the principles and practice of surgery in the Jefferson Medical College : delivered November 1st, 1847 / by Thomas D. Mütter.

  • Mütter, Thomas D. (Thomas Dent), 1811-1859.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lecture, introductory to a course on the principles and practice of surgery in the Jefferson Medical College : delivered November 1st, 1847 / by Thomas D. Mütter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    the Grecian sage, improves upon his propositions, and estab- lishes the basis of that system which all acknowledge to be as near the truth as is possible. It was the knowledge of medi- cine, that enabled Locke to establish his philosophy, and Reid, Bacon, and others—also physicians,--to confirm it by subse- quent observations. So ably was this done, that Descartes proclaimed, if we are to have a correct philosophy of the human mind, it must come from physicians ! Who have been the most successful naturalists of their days? Medical men,—many of whom were most laborious practition- ers ; and it is certainly not claiming too much, when we de- clare, that to their efforts is mainly due the present state of perfection to which this department of knowledge has arrived. The names of Aristotle, Gessner, Daubenton, Vallesneri, Holler, Blumenbach, Cowper, Vic D'Ayzr, Bonnet, Jurine, Dumeril, Broussonet, Lamarck, Jenner, Hunter, Home, Bell, Morton, Holbrook, Beck, Gray, Torrey, Pickering, and others almost as celebrated, will ever remain as brilliant illustrations of the compatability of the two sciences, and the support afforded by each to the other. What, for example, raised Jenner to the high position he occupied as a benefactor of the human race ? His love for natural history, which, leading him to frequent and close observation of the diseases, as well as the habits of animals, enabled him to make a discovery that has conferred the most lasting benefits upon mankind, and estab- lished for its author a never-dying fame. To whom are we indebted for most of the great principles in surgery, which govern even us in our day ?—To John Hunter, the physician and naturalist, whose name shall endure as long as time itself. To medical men too, is Botany greatly indebted. That wondrous giant in intellect, whose name stands at the head of the list of those who first brought order out of chaos, in the science of Botany, was, at the time he published his most valuable works on Botany, professor of medicine at Upsal. The name of Linneus is familiar to you all, for who that has entered the threshhold of medicine has failed to encounter it at every turn? Malpighi, the anatomist, Dutrochet, Jusseiu, Gmelin, Willdenow, Hasselquist, Pereira, Wood, Griffith,