Outlines of the theory and practice of midwifery / by Alexander Hamilton, M.D. F.R.S. Edin. ; Professor of midwifery in the university, and member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.

  • Hamilton, Alexander, 1739-1802.
Date:
MDCCXC [1790]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Outlines of the theory and practice of midwifery / by Alexander Hamilton, M.D. F.R.S. Edin. ; Professor of midwifery in the university, and member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. 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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    body in health, and the very different changes introdu- ced by difeafe : To ftudy it properly, all thefe ought to be confidered ; and it is this part which is com- monly called the Theory of Medicine. In a fubject fo difficult and obfcure as the ani- mal oeconomy, it is not furprifingthat the practitioner mould be often emban-afTed; and that inftead of certainty, he mould fometimes be obliged to de- termine his conduct by probability, or by a loofeand uncertain analogy. But the views of the furgeon are lefs obfcure ; he is often confined to cafes where manual dexterity only is neceffary, and has, very generally, the objects of confideration fubjected to his fenfcs; and, where they are out of the reach of fenfe, the fymptoms are more plain, the inductions fewer, and the conclufions more certain. In this part, then, theory is lefs necelfary, and only ufeful as it feems to connect the feveral fads : Practice is particularly proper to ac- quire that firmnefs and conftancy of mind, and that manual dexterity, fo eflential to the fuccefs and cha- racter of a furgeon. Midwifery, which may be defined The art of la- •f cilitating the birth of children,' is to be confidered in much the fame light as the other parts of furgery. Theory is lefs eflential to it, as it chiefly confifts in an operation which requires a dexterity, only to be learned o