- Email: [email protected]
THE LANCET: SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
855
NOTES, COMMENTS, AND ABSTRACTS.
Manchester, Baguley Sanatorium.—Sen. Asst. AT.O. 9500.
Also
Asst. M.O. £350. Manchester, Royal Infirmary.—Asst. M.O. for Massage and Electrical Dept. At rate of £100. ,Ila2icliester, Salford Royal Hospital.—Cas. H.S. At, rate of£125. Manor House Hospital, Golders Green, N.H.—H.S. At rate of £200. Miller General Hospital, Greenwich-road. S.E.—Orth. H.S. At rate of £150. Hun. Surgeon. Also lion. Physician to Skin
Notes, Comments, and Abstracts. SOME OF LETTSOM’S CONTEMPORARIES. Being the Presidential Address delivered to the Medical Society of London on Oct. 14th BY DONALD ARMOUR, C.M.G. F.R.C.S. ENG.,
Dept. .Plymouth City.—Asst. M.O.H. for Maternity and Child Welfare Dept. £600. Portsmouth Dockyard and Government Civil Establishments Medical Society.—M.O. Portsmouth Royal llosliital.-Sem. H.S. At rate of £175. Also
SENIOR SURGEON TO THE WEST LONDON HOSPITAL.
GENTLEMEN,—My first duty on taking this honourable and ancient chair of President of the Medical Society of London is to offer you my s ncere thanks and appreciation for the very great honour you have put upon me. To be mentioned amongst the long list of holders of this distinguished office is, indeed a satisfaction, but one tempered by a. sense of responsibility and some misgiving, lest one fall short of the high standard set by my predecessors in the past 156 years. Our founder, John Coakley Lettsom, was born in 1744 and died in 1815. During this period of 71 years great historic events took place which had a lasting effect upon the destinies of peoples. His generation witnessed historic episodes, whose dramatic interest equalled the importance of the changes they effected in world history. As a lad of 15 Lettsom must have gloried and grieved with all England at the news of Wolfe’s death and victory at Quebec, which won us Canada, and lost us one of our greatest soldiers. In those years, too. Clive was giving us India, though a less glorious death awaited him. During the next 25 years the aspect of the world had changed. The birth of the United States of America, made possible by Wolfe’s victory, had taken place. At middle age Lettsom witnessed the cataclysm of the French Revolution, and all the mighty episodes of the Napoleonic wars marked his declining years. It was an age of enlightenment, of the revolt of the intellect against tradition and prejudice. It was the golden age of benevolent despots, from Catharine II., Frederick the Great, and the noblest and least successful, Joseph II., to lesser rulers throughout Europe. It was largely owing to their efforts that the enlightened ideas were spread. Momentous changes were taking place in almost every branch of literature and thought, so that the time of Lettsom witnessed the final emancipation of the human intellect. In no direction was this more marked than in medical thought and teaching. For, prior to this time, very little was accomplished, if we except the work of Harvey, which has withstood the test of time. Based largely on metaphysical speculation, the theories of medicine could not withstand the test of scientific proof. It was, indeed, an age of theories and system-makers. Linnaus (1707-78), Stahl (1660-1734),’‘ Cullen (1710-90), Hoffmann (1660-1742), Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), " the disputatious and disreputable " Brown (1735-88), as Allbutt described him, and Boerhaave (16681738), were all propounders of a " succession of forgotten theories." The effects produced upon medicine by these systems has been well described "by Arnold Chaplin in his paraphrase from Lord Morley’s Voltaire." " For all the systems we see only dismal tracts of medical darkness, we hear only the humming of the doctors as they serve forth. to men thirsting after knowledge, the draff of a medical
H.P. and two H.S.’s. Kach at rate of £130. Preston and County of Lancaster Royal Infirmary.—Res. Smrg. O. £300. Also H.S. At rate of £150. rRueen’s Hospital for Children, llccclkney-road, E.-H.P., Cas. 0., Also Clin. Asst. for All at rate of £100. and H.S. Orthopaedic Dept. ;).s. each attendance. Rcdhill, Surrey, Royal L’czrlsrrood Institutioit.-Jiiii. Asst. M.O. At rate of £250. Rotherham Hospital.—H.P. £180. Rotherhant Union Hospital, Alma-road.—Res. Asst. M.O. £125. Royal London Ophthalmic flusl)it(tl, City-road, E.C.—Sen. H.S. £150. Royal Naval Dental Service.—Dental Officere. Royal JVaterloo Hospital for Children and Women, Woterloo-road, S.E.—Hon. Gynæcological Reg. Also H.S. At rate of £100. St. Helen’s County Borough.—Tuber. O. £600. .St. John’s Hospital, Lewisham, S.E.—Radiologist. Also Res. M.O. At rate of £100. St. Mary’s Hospital, W.—Asst. Ophth. 8. Also Asst. S. for Diseases of the Ear, Nose, and Throat. St. Peter’s (Whitechapel) Hospital, Vallance-road, E.-Res. Asst. M.O. 450. Sheffield Rodal Hospital.—Res. Anæsthetist. £80. Sheffield, South Yorkshire Jlerctcrl Hospital.—M.O. £400. .Stroud General Tlosp ital.-H. S. At rate of £125. Torquay, Torboy Hospital.—Hon. Anæsthetist. Victoria Hospital for Children, Tite-street, Chelsea, S.W.-Hon. Med. Reg. Also Hon. Surg. Reg. West Bronawich, Flallam Hospital.—Res. H.S. £250. 14’est End Hospital for Nervous Diseases, JVelbeck-street, W.Hon. Asst. Physician. West London Hospital, Hammersmith, TT’.-Asst. M.O. At rate of ;8450. Also three Jun. Asst. M.O.’s. Each at rate of £350. Western Ophthalmic Hospital, Marylebone-road, N.TP.-Sen. and Jun. Non-res. H.S.’s. At rate of £150 and £100 respectively. Wolverhampton, Royal Hospital.-H.S. At rate of 9150. Worcester General Infirmary.—Jun. Res. M.O. £120.
’The Chief Inspector of Factories announces vacant appointments for Certifying Factory Surgeons at Southall
(Middlesex)
and
Mevagissey (Cornwall).
Births, Marriages, and Deaths. BIRTHS. BLACKWELL.—On Oct. 10th, at Maison Bruges, Don-road, Jersey, the wife of Dr. A. S. Blackwell, of a daughter. RITCHIE.—On Oct. 3rd, at Laggan, Epsom, the wife of Dr. R. H. A. Ritchie, Benhill-avenue, Sutton, Surrey, of a daughter. WATKINS.—On Oct. 7th, at Ekdale," King’s Lynn, the wife of Dr. E. Holmes Watkins, of a daughter. WHITLEY.—On Oct. 4th, at Thorneybrook, Chelmsford, the wife of J. T. Whitley, ILB., Ch.B., of a son. "
superstition." But the dawn of
better day was at hand. The days of of any general belief in pure speculation, were over, and in their place arose the burning desire to solve the mysteries of pathological processes. After smouldering for some 70 years the fires of progress in the sciences of Physiology, Chemistry, and Anatomy leapt again into flame, and burned with a renewed brilliancy during the
MARRIAGES. CRAIG—ALLEN.—On Oct. 12th, at St. James’s,
pure
Birkdale,
John
Craig, M.D., to Mary Allen, ;BI.B., Ch.B.
DEATHS. BREMNER.—On Oct. 12th, at St. Giles-street, Norwich, James Morrison Gardiner Bremner, M.B., C.M. Aberd., T.D., O.B.E., Lieut.-Colonel late R.A.M.C. (T.F.), aged 63. GAIRDNER.—On Oct. llth, at Sans Souci," Cheltenham, Matthew William Gairdner, M.B. Edin., aged 79. N.B.—A fee of 7s. 6d is charged for the insertion of Notices of Births, Marriages, and Deaths.
period
"
-
THE LANCET: SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
For complete scale o’ adver sement charges THE MANAGER.
apply to
speculation,
I
we are
a
or
discussing.
The Dawn of Physiology. Albrecht von Haller (1708-77) was the author of the first great modern treatise on physiology. Born at Berne, he graduated at Leyden, and spent 17 years at the newly established University at Gottingen, where he taught all branches of medicine, established Botanic Gardens, wrote some 13,000 scientific papers, and incidentally did some of his best experimental work. Nor were his energies limited to purely scientific work, for he stands in the first rank of our medical poets and historical novelists. In 1734 his application for the post of City Physician at Berne was " rejected, with the comment, He is a poet ; why should he want to be a hospital physician ?" " His scientific work has long since passed into the impersonal stage, but to his credit stand researches of the first rank in the irritability of muscle and nerve, a demonstration of the myogenictheory of the heart’s action, and an admirable and accurate account of the mechanics of the heart’s action " (Osler). To read " Haller redivivus," by Kronecker, is to
NOTES, COMMENTS, AND ABSTRACTS.
Manchester, Baguley Sanatorium.—Sen. Asst. AT.O. 9500.
Also
Asst. M.O. £350. Manchester, Royal Infirmary.—Asst. M.O. for Massage and Electrical Dept. At rate of £100. ,Ila2icliester, Salford Royal Hospital.—Cas. H.S. At, rate of£125. Manor House Hospital, Golders Green, N.H.—H.S. At rate of £200. Miller General Hospital, Greenwich-road. S.E.—Orth. H.S. At rate of £150. Hun. Surgeon. Also lion. Physician to Skin
Notes, Comments, and Abstracts. SOME OF LETTSOM’S CONTEMPORARIES. Being the Presidential Address delivered to the Medical Society of London on Oct. 14th BY DONALD ARMOUR, C.M.G. F.R.C.S. ENG.,
Dept. .Plymouth City.—Asst. M.O.H. for Maternity and Child Welfare Dept. £600. Portsmouth Dockyard and Government Civil Establishments Medical Society.—M.O. Portsmouth Royal llosliital.-Sem. H.S. At rate of £175. Also
SENIOR SURGEON TO THE WEST LONDON HOSPITAL.
GENTLEMEN,—My first duty on taking this honourable and ancient chair of President of the Medical Society of London is to offer you my s ncere thanks and appreciation for the very great honour you have put upon me. To be mentioned amongst the long list of holders of this distinguished office is, indeed a satisfaction, but one tempered by a. sense of responsibility and some misgiving, lest one fall short of the high standard set by my predecessors in the past 156 years. Our founder, John Coakley Lettsom, was born in 1744 and died in 1815. During this period of 71 years great historic events took place which had a lasting effect upon the destinies of peoples. His generation witnessed historic episodes, whose dramatic interest equalled the importance of the changes they effected in world history. As a lad of 15 Lettsom must have gloried and grieved with all England at the news of Wolfe’s death and victory at Quebec, which won us Canada, and lost us one of our greatest soldiers. In those years, too. Clive was giving us India, though a less glorious death awaited him. During the next 25 years the aspect of the world had changed. The birth of the United States of America, made possible by Wolfe’s victory, had taken place. At middle age Lettsom witnessed the cataclysm of the French Revolution, and all the mighty episodes of the Napoleonic wars marked his declining years. It was an age of enlightenment, of the revolt of the intellect against tradition and prejudice. It was the golden age of benevolent despots, from Catharine II., Frederick the Great, and the noblest and least successful, Joseph II., to lesser rulers throughout Europe. It was largely owing to their efforts that the enlightened ideas were spread. Momentous changes were taking place in almost every branch of literature and thought, so that the time of Lettsom witnessed the final emancipation of the human intellect. In no direction was this more marked than in medical thought and teaching. For, prior to this time, very little was accomplished, if we except the work of Harvey, which has withstood the test of time. Based largely on metaphysical speculation, the theories of medicine could not withstand the test of scientific proof. It was, indeed, an age of theories and system-makers. Linnaus (1707-78), Stahl (1660-1734),’‘ Cullen (1710-90), Hoffmann (1660-1742), Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), " the disputatious and disreputable " Brown (1735-88), as Allbutt described him, and Boerhaave (16681738), were all propounders of a " succession of forgotten theories." The effects produced upon medicine by these systems has been well described "by Arnold Chaplin in his paraphrase from Lord Morley’s Voltaire." " For all the systems we see only dismal tracts of medical darkness, we hear only the humming of the doctors as they serve forth. to men thirsting after knowledge, the draff of a medical
H.P. and two H.S.’s. Kach at rate of £130. Preston and County of Lancaster Royal Infirmary.—Res. Smrg. O. £300. Also H.S. At rate of £150. rRueen’s Hospital for Children, llccclkney-road, E.-H.P., Cas. 0., Also Clin. Asst. for All at rate of £100. and H.S. Orthopaedic Dept. ;).s. each attendance. Rcdhill, Surrey, Royal L’czrlsrrood Institutioit.-Jiiii. Asst. M.O. At rate of £250. Rotherham Hospital.—H.P. £180. Rotherhant Union Hospital, Alma-road.—Res. Asst. M.O. £125. Royal London Ophthalmic flusl)it(tl, City-road, E.C.—Sen. H.S. £150. Royal Naval Dental Service.—Dental Officere. Royal JVaterloo Hospital for Children and Women, Woterloo-road, S.E.—Hon. Gynæcological Reg. Also H.S. At rate of £100. St. Helen’s County Borough.—Tuber. O. £600. .St. John’s Hospital, Lewisham, S.E.—Radiologist. Also Res. M.O. At rate of £100. St. Mary’s Hospital, W.—Asst. Ophth. 8. Also Asst. S. for Diseases of the Ear, Nose, and Throat. St. Peter’s (Whitechapel) Hospital, Vallance-road, E.-Res. Asst. M.O. 450. Sheffield Rodal Hospital.—Res. Anæsthetist. £80. Sheffield, South Yorkshire Jlerctcrl Hospital.—M.O. £400. .Stroud General Tlosp ital.-H. S. At rate of £125. Torquay, Torboy Hospital.—Hon. Anæsthetist. Victoria Hospital for Children, Tite-street, Chelsea, S.W.-Hon. Med. Reg. Also Hon. Surg. Reg. West Bronawich, Flallam Hospital.—Res. H.S. £250. 14’est End Hospital for Nervous Diseases, JVelbeck-street, W.Hon. Asst. Physician. West London Hospital, Hammersmith, TT’.-Asst. M.O. At rate of ;8450. Also three Jun. Asst. M.O.’s. Each at rate of £350. Western Ophthalmic Hospital, Marylebone-road, N.TP.-Sen. and Jun. Non-res. H.S.’s. At rate of £150 and £100 respectively. Wolverhampton, Royal Hospital.-H.S. At rate of 9150. Worcester General Infirmary.—Jun. Res. M.O. £120.
’The Chief Inspector of Factories announces vacant appointments for Certifying Factory Surgeons at Southall
(Middlesex)
and
Mevagissey (Cornwall).
Births, Marriages, and Deaths. BIRTHS. BLACKWELL.—On Oct. 10th, at Maison Bruges, Don-road, Jersey, the wife of Dr. A. S. Blackwell, of a daughter. RITCHIE.—On Oct. 3rd, at Laggan, Epsom, the wife of Dr. R. H. A. Ritchie, Benhill-avenue, Sutton, Surrey, of a daughter. WATKINS.—On Oct. 7th, at Ekdale," King’s Lynn, the wife of Dr. E. Holmes Watkins, of a daughter. WHITLEY.—On Oct. 4th, at Thorneybrook, Chelmsford, the wife of J. T. Whitley, ILB., Ch.B., of a son. "
superstition." But the dawn of
better day was at hand. The days of of any general belief in pure speculation, were over, and in their place arose the burning desire to solve the mysteries of pathological processes. After smouldering for some 70 years the fires of progress in the sciences of Physiology, Chemistry, and Anatomy leapt again into flame, and burned with a renewed brilliancy during the
MARRIAGES. CRAIG—ALLEN.—On Oct. 12th, at St. James’s,
pure
Birkdale,
John
Craig, M.D., to Mary Allen, ;BI.B., Ch.B.
DEATHS. BREMNER.—On Oct. 12th, at St. Giles-street, Norwich, James Morrison Gardiner Bremner, M.B., C.M. Aberd., T.D., O.B.E., Lieut.-Colonel late R.A.M.C. (T.F.), aged 63. GAIRDNER.—On Oct. llth, at Sans Souci," Cheltenham, Matthew William Gairdner, M.B. Edin., aged 79. N.B.—A fee of 7s. 6d is charged for the insertion of Notices of Births, Marriages, and Deaths.
period
"
-
THE LANCET: SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
For complete scale o’ adver sement charges THE MANAGER.
apply to
speculation,
I
we are
a
or
discussing.
The Dawn of Physiology. Albrecht von Haller (1708-77) was the author of the first great modern treatise on physiology. Born at Berne, he graduated at Leyden, and spent 17 years at the newly established University at Gottingen, where he taught all branches of medicine, established Botanic Gardens, wrote some 13,000 scientific papers, and incidentally did some of his best experimental work. Nor were his energies limited to purely scientific work, for he stands in the first rank of our medical poets and historical novelists. In 1734 his application for the post of City Physician at Berne was " rejected, with the comment, He is a poet ; why should he want to be a hospital physician ?" " His scientific work has long since passed into the impersonal stage, but to his credit stand researches of the first rank in the irritability of muscle and nerve, a demonstration of the myogenictheory of the heart’s action, and an admirable and accurate account of the mechanics of the heart’s action " (Osler). To read " Haller redivivus," by Kronecker, is to