A system of clinical medicine, dealing with the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease / 2nd edition.

  • Savill, Thomas Dixon, 1856-1910.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A system of clinical medicine, dealing with the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease / 2nd edition. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    INTRODUCTION EVOLUTION. Those who ponder on general principles and methods will have observed that a considerable change has gradually taken place during the last half-century in the methods of studying the science and art of medicine. Formerly, men were content to observe the symptoms or effects of disease at the bedside and in the dead-house, and to speculate on the etiological connection of these two series of phenomena. Wherever the association of such phenomena during life and after death was sufficiently constant they were spoken of collectively as a “ disease ” ; when a group of symptoms without anatomical lesion constantly recurred, it received a name and place among the list of “ disorders.” Then each disease or disorder was taken as a separate entity, its anatomy, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment were described, and its various possible etiological factors discussed ; and the result was known as “ Descriptive ” or “ Systematic Medicine.” The guiding principle of this descriptive process was the tracing from an assumed cause to a known effect. In later times great advances were achieved, almost synchronously, in two very different directions. On the one hand great improvements were made in the methods of observing and investigating the symptoms or effects of disease during life, and thus Clinical Medicine came into separate existence. This stage was marked by the appearance in this country of two very successful works—one by Dr. Samuel Fenwick, of London, on “ Medical Diagnosis,” first published in 1869, dealing with the symptoms and diagnosis of disease ; another by Dr. James Finlayson, of Glasgow, entitled “ A Clinical Manual,” first published in 1878, dealing with the methods of observing and investigating the symptoms of disease. On the other hand, with the extremely rapid growth of chemical, biological, and bacteriological sciences, and the elaboration of experimental methods in the investigation of disease processes, a new school of pathology arose, whose methods were based upon experiment, and whose leading principle was the artificial production