An inquiry into the history, nature, causes, and different modes of treatment hitherto pursued, in the cure of scrophula and cancer / by William Nisbet.

Date:
1795
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the history, nature, causes, and different modes of treatment hitherto pursued, in the cure of scrophula and cancer / by William Nisbet. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

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    23- we formerly obferved, which enfue on the colla- tion of the menHrual di[charge in women, are fully eHablilhed for any precipitation ; to have recourfe then, to an operation, mud argue an extreme ignorance, not to lay world, in any prac- titioner. Even theutilitv to mankind, of confidering Can- cer as a local affection, maybe alfo very much called in queflion. It gives a prejudice in favour of ope- rating, and thus withdraws the attention of practi - tioners from the invcltigation of the lubject, and blunts the ardour for finding out a remedy, which fliould be their great objedt ; for, as Dr Rufli well obferves, to pronounce a difeafe, in its nature in- curable, is too often to render it fo. But, in addition to the real inefhcacy ol the operation againlt a return of the difeafe, another argument has been employed by many piac.fi- tioners, viz. that its recurrence, in 1'uch cates ol relaple, is attended with an increafed agony and pain. Whether this is really the cafe, will, per- haps, be difficult to eftablifh; but it is cleai, as the difeafe is eflentiallv connedtcd with a debili- tated Hate of the fyftem, the operation, and its confequences, mult certainly coniiderably in- creafe this already predominent Hate of'weaknefs. 1 have thus offered my opinion at Iome length againlt extirpation. But, in fpite of whatever may be advanced againlt it, lince with molt hu- geous it will Hill remain a preferable mode of procedure, I ftiall examine, next, the particular cafes