下载辰思小说免费APP
YouyoungmenwhoarefollowingthehospitalshardlyknowhowmuchyouareindebtedtoLouis。IsaynothingofhisResearchesonPhthisisorhisgreatworkonTyphoidFever。ButIconsiderhismodestandbriefEssayonBleedinginsomeInflammatoryDiseases,basedoncasescarefullyobservedandnumericallyanalyzed,oneofthemostimportantwrittencontributionstopracticalmedicine,tothetreatmentofinternaldisease,ofthiscentury,ifnotsincethedaysofSydenham。Thelancetwasthemagician’swandofthedarkagesofmedicine。Theoldphysiciansnotonlybelievedinitsgeneralefficacyasawonder-workerindisease,buttheybelievedthateachmaladycouldbesuccessfullyattackedfromsomespecialpartofthebody,——thestrategicpointwhichcommandedtheseatofthemorbidaffection。OnafiguregiveninthecuriousoldworkofJohndeKetam,nolessthanthirty-eightseparateplacesaremarkedastheproperonestobleedfrom,indifferentdiseases。EvenLouis,whohadnotwhollygivenupvenesection,usednowandthentoorderthatapatientsufferingfromheadacheshouldbebledinthefoot,inpreferencetoanyotherpart。
ButwhatLouisdidwasthis:heshowedbyastrictanalysisofnumerouscasesthatbleedingdidnotstrangle,——jugulatewasthewordthenused,——acutediseases,moreespeciallypneumonia。Thiswasnotareform,——itwasarevolution。ItwasfollowedupinthiscountrybytheremarkableDiscourseofDr。JacobBigelowuponSelf-LimitedDiseases,whichhas,Ibelieve,donemorethananyotherworkoressayinourownlanguagetorescuethepracticeofmedicinefromtheslaverytothedruggingsystemwhichwasapartoftheinheritanceoftheprofession。
Yes,Isay,asIlookbackonthelonghoursofthemanydaysIspentinthewardsandintheautopsyroomofLaPitie,whereLouiswasoneoftheattendingphysicians,——yes,Louisdidagreatworkforpracticalmedicine。Modestinthepresenceofnature,fearlessinthefaceofauthority,unwearyinginthepursuitoftruth,hewasamanwhomanystudentmightbehappyandproudtoclaimashisteacherandhisfriend,andyet,asIlookbackonthedayswhenIfollowedhisteachings,IfeelthatIgavemyselfuptooexclusivelytohismethodsofthoughtandstudy。
Thereisonepartoftheirbusinesswhichcertainmedicalpractitionersaretooapttoforget;namely,thatwhattheyshouldmostofalltrytodoistowardoffdisease,toalleviatesuffering,topreservelife,oratleasttoprolongitifpossible。Itisnotoftheslightestinteresttothepatienttoknowwhetherthreeorthreeandaquartercubicinchesofhislungarehepatized。Hismindisnotoccupiedwiththinkingofthecuriousproblemswhicharetobesolvedbyhisownautopsy,——whetherthisorthatstrandofthespinalmarrowistheseatofthisorthatformofdegeneration。Hewantssomethingtorelievehispain,tomitigatetheanguishofdyspnea,tobringbackmotionandsensibilitytothedeadlimb,tostillthetorturesofneuralgia。Whatisittohimthatyoucanlocalizeandnamebysomeuncouthtermthediseasewhichyoucouldnotpreventandwhichyoucannotcure?Anoldwomanwhoknowshowtomakeapoulticeandhowtoputiton,anddoesittuto,eito,jucunde,justwhenandwhereitiswanted,isbetter,——athousandtimesbetterinmanycases,——thanastaringpathologist,whoexploresandthumpsanddoubtsandguesses,andtellshispatientbewillbebettertomorrow,andsogoeshometotumblehisbooksoverandmakeoutadiagnosis。
Butinthosedays,I,likemostofmyfellowstudents,wasthinkingmuchmoreof“science“thanofpracticalmedicine,andIbelieveifwehadnotclungsocloselytotheskirtsofLouisandhadfollowedsomeofthecoursesofmenlikeTrousseau,——therapeutists,whogavespecialattentiontocurativemethods,andnotchieflytodiagnosis,——itwouldhavebeenbetterformeandothers。Onething,atanyrate,wedidlearninthewardsofLouis。Welearnedthataverylargeproportionofdiseasesgetwellofthemselves,withoutanyspecialmedication,——thegreatfactformulated,enforced,andpopularizedbyDr。JacobBigelowintheDiscoursereferredto。Weunlearnedthehabitofdruggingforitsownsake。Thisdetestablepractice,whichIwasalmostproscribedforcondemningsomewhattooepigrammaticallyalittlemorethantwentyyearsago,cametous,I
suspect,inaconsiderablemeasurefromtheEnglish“generalpractitioners,“asortofprescribingapothecaries。Yourememberhow,whenthecitywasbesieged,eachartisanwhowascalleduponincounciltosuggestthebestmeansofdefencerecommendedthe
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