Address in surgery / delivered at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, held at Leamington, August 3, 1865, by James Syme.

  • Syme, James, 1799-1870.
Date:
[1865]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Address in surgery / delivered at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, held at Leamington, August 3, 1865, by James Syme. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    But before proceeding further, I must entirely dissent from the opinion which was expressed by my respected friend who addressed you yesterday, that the progress of improvement implied a cen¬ sure on those who had preceded it. On the contrary, I have always understood that there was nothing more creditable than the admission of error; and that every man, instead of being ashamed to do so, should be proud of taking a step in advance, whether he leads or follows. Commencing with the treatment of inflamma¬ tion and its consequences, I may notice a most remarkable difference between the old and present practice, in the almost entire disuse of bleeding instead of its nearly constant employment. On looking back, it is indeed difficult to realise the reckless and indiscriminate profusion with which blood was made to flow. When I was one of the dressers in the Boyal Infirmary of Edinburgh, two of us went every evening, at a stated hour, to bleed the patients whose names were entered in a book with the respective quantities due from each. On one occasion I recollect of 65 oz. taken at once,