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Ancient Therapeutic Arts. The Fitzpatrick Lectures Delivered in 1950 & 1951 at the Royal College of Physicians PDF

158 Pages·1954·7.742 MB·English
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Preview Ancient Therapeutic Arts. The Fitzpatrick Lectures Delivered in 1950 & 1951 at the Royal College of Physicians

cA ViClCVif txMCW^petiKc ι/rrts The Fitzpatrick Lectures delivered in ig$o & igji at the Royal College of Physicians WILLIAM BROCKBANK MA MD (Camb) FRCP William Heinemann Medical Books Ltd, London, 1954 FOR MY FATHER First published .... 1954 Reprinted 7,955 This book is copyright. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part, nor may illustrations be copied for any purpose, without permission. Application with regard to copyright should be addressed to the publishers. Printed in Great Britain by W. S. Cowell Ltd at the Butter Market, Ipswich By the same Author PORTRAIT OF A HOSPITAL The bicentenary h istory of the Manchester Royal Infirmary AN HISTORIC ADDRESS Delivered at the bicentenary celebrations The Author is grateful for permission to reproduce illustrations and quote from recently published books as follows: The Director of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum and Library (illustrations on pages 16, 17, 18, 19, 28, 29, 47, 56, 68, 75, 77, 85, 91, 92, 145, 150, 151). The Editor oî La Presse Médicale (illustrations on pages 17, 44, 48, 49, 57). Ferdinand Enke of Stuttgart (illustrations on pages 24, 42, 43, 45). The Directeur of Aesculape (illustrations on pages 44, 47, 71). The Editor of the British Medical Journal (illustrations on pages 59, 60). The Director of the British Museum (illustrations on pages 26, 74). The Editor of the Lancet (illustration on page 57). The Editor of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine (illustration on page 59)· The Editor of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (illustration on page 53). The Director of the Gruuthuse Museum, Bruges (illustration on page 27). Messrs. Victor Gollancz and Messrs. A. M. Heath & Co. for a quotation and reproduction on pages 98 and 99 from Evelyn Eaton's Every Month was May. Messrs. Seeker & Warberg for a quotation from George Orwell's essay 'How the poor die' from his book Shooting an Elephant. Messrs. Watts & Co. for a quotation from Sir Arthur Keith's Autobiography. A few of the remaining illustrations are from books in the Library of the ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE. The remainder are reproduced from books and prints in the possession of MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY MEDICAL LIBRARY. rets*ce IT WAS A GREAT HONOUR to be invited to give the four Fitz- patrick Lectures at the Royal College of Physicians during the years 1950 and 1951. After a good deal of thought I decided to tell the story of a number of the older therapeutic procedures that had dominated medicine for centuries and played their part even at the sick-beds of reigning monarchs. This subject has interested me for a long time. Cupping and leeching and the various methods of counter-irritation have never been effectively dealt with in the his- tories of medicine; nor has the enema. It is true there are excellent papers on this latter subject in the journals, notably that by Frieden- wald and Morrison, which has been a great help to me. But there was interesting material that had not been included by these authors and the pictorial side of the story has never been reproduced ade- quately. The choice of the subject for the fourth lecture was difficult. I was anxious to find one that was interesting and historically obscure. Eventually I decided to recount the history of the intravenous injection of drugs. I can only hope that the lectures now recorded in print will provide the reader with as much interest and delight as they rewarded the writer. References A major difficulty was presented by the large number of illustra- tions and bibliographic details included in the book. The reference numbers to these threatened to obstruct the smooth reading of the text. It was eventually decided to deal with the problem in a some- what unusual way. The bibliographic details will be found at the end of each lecture arranged in sections. If the quotation from an author's work in any section refers to one or two books only, no figure or date has been inserted in the text, but the reference will be found at the end of the chapter. Wherever possible the anachronistic method 'Hippocrates (1936)' has been avoided. It is hoped and believed that scholars and students will have little or no difficulty in turning up the source of a statement or quotation. It is also hoped that the reader will not be infuriated at the reference numbers that have forced their way into the text. Wherever possible these have been inserted at the end of a paragraph. Acknowledgements I am much indebted to many of my friends for help and advice. Dr. Harvey Flack has used his editorial experience on my text and illustrations to their great advantage. Dr. E. Ashworth Underwood has put at my disposal the vast collection of apparatus, pictures and books in the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum and Library. Mr. O. R. Corbett, B.A., and Mr. John Lingard, B.A., of the Man- chester Grammar School, have helped me with Latin and French translations, and Mr. H. J. Pearson, M.A., of Manchester University, has also given me the benefit of his knowledge of Latin. Mrs. Frida Bier has covered my deficiencies in the German language. Professor H. W. Fairman, of Liverpool University, and Mr. Burton-Brown, B.A., of Manchester University, have helped me on matters con- nected with Egyptian papyri and the exact meaning of heiro- glyphics. Their work has been invaluable and has enabled me to check original sources. Mr. George Wilson, the Librarian of the Manchester University Medical Library, and his staff have produced innumerable old and new books for me with astonishing willingness and speed. On the rare occasions where they have failed me, my wants have been supplied by the Librarians of the unrivalled Wellcome Historical Medical Library and of the Royal Society of Medicine. Without their help these lectures could never have been prepared. I was particularly fortunate in having a library so rich in old medical books in my home town. The photography has been done with great skill by Mr. J. Killshaw, Mr. R. Schofield and the staff of the Department of Medical Photography at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, working under the direction of Dr. Robert Ollerenshaw. Their work is a vital feature of my book and has been displayed to full advantage by Mr. David Gwynn. The distinguished lay-out is entirely his work. Finally I must thank my publishers Dr. Johnston Abraham and Mr. Owen R. Evans of William Heinemann Medical Books Ltd. It is a real pleasure to work with them. W. B. Manchester, February 1954 Che (jrr^cieyyt (ytrt ^ J V I C V ^ I^ ^ T ^ V ^ | | V | Î 5 f r t * ^ t ' Î ^ V| JOHN HEYWOOD'S Play called the Four P's is first known in print in 1545 and is a familiar document in the history of English drama. In it a Palmer, a Pardoner and a Potycary argue about their merits. The Palmer boasts of the shrines he has visited and of the spiritual merit he has won. The Pardoner asserts that his relics and pardons are a much easier and safer way of saving souls. The Potycary claims that he alone is the true soul-saver, since it is by virtue of his medicines that people get their start towards Heaven. The fourth P, the Pedlar, walks on, and it is suggested that he should decide which of the three was the best soul-saver. He declined so responsible a duty but readily agreed to judge which could tell the best lie. In due course the Potycary described the case of an incurable epileptic girl: And though for life I did not doubt her Yet did I take more pain about her Than I would take with my own sister So at the last I gave her a clyster. I thrust a tampion in her tewel. By this he meant an enema of gunpowder, 'Tampion' being a gunnery term and £tewel' meaning a tail and, hence, the anus. This when fired threw her ten miles through the air to a castle strongly built of stone, which she wrecked so completely that no stone was left standing on another. As a result she was Delivered with such violence Of all her inconvenience I left her in good health and lust And so she doth continue I trust. After so valiant an effort it is a matter for regret to have to record that the Potycary did not win the contest. 35· 72 jo

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