Kennedy on diseases of the skin.

  • Kennedy, Donald, 1812-1889.
Date:
[1858?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Kennedy on diseases of the skin. 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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    PREFACE. Dear Sir: My object in writing these few pages, is that every one afflicted with Diseases of the Skin, may know something of the name and nature of his disease,*.and again, to save myself the trouble of answering several thousand letters every year. It was mf intention at first to take a new track, and divide Diseases of the Skin under three heads: 1st—Diseases on the Skin : 2d—Diseases in the Skin; 3d—Diseases under the Skin ; and to avoid all scientific terms, and to describe each as it appears at its height. This is very good in theory, but useless in practice ; therefore I followed the beaten path of others. It is greatly to be regretted that Diseases of the Skin have been so much over- looked in this country, in fact entirely neglected, as nothing has ever been written on the subject. Trifling as these few pages may appear to you, (I am sorry to say it,) they are the first ever written on the .subject in these United States. All that we have on the subject are republications of English and translations of French works. These are good, and I suppose accurate, in describing diseases as they occur in Europe ; but do not at all meet the demand in this country. From some cause that I do not pretend to understand, *Diseases of the Skin have changed in their type as well as their cause in this country. In Europe the prolific cause is said to be poverty and filth. This cannot operate in this country, as we do not know even the meaning of the words, as they are understood in Europe. To read French writers on scald head, as mole hills of scab, smelling like cats' dung, and Bwarming with lice, will give you an idea of European filth. It is very much to be regretted that Dr. Bell, of Philadelphia, in his beautiful edition of Rayer's great work, has not noticed more minutely the alterations or changes in the type of the various diseases in this country. I feel confident no man in the United States could do it with equal accuracy. I hope that some of our own physicians will soon give us a standard American work on Diseases of the Skin, that.can be relied on, and will be a credit to the profession , as it is now not one physician in twenty knows the difference between humors that are the most widely apart in their nature—and everything goes by the name of Salt Rheum or Scrofula. W hoever will be the author c our American standard, I hope tie wrl write plain n concise, and not follow tha vague and obscure style of writing tha tome European writers delight in.