The complete works of John Hunter, F.R.S (Volume 1).

  • Hunter, John, 1728-1793.
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The complete works of John Hunter, F.R.S (Volume 1). 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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    as he had always great difficulty in delivering himself extempore, an acquirement almost indispensable in anatomical teaching. Hence, notwithstanding his extensive and accurate knowledge of anatomy, he never gained a popular manner, and could not but have appeared to great disadvantage when contrasted with the Doctor, who was so pre-eminently qualified as a teacher. In the dissecting-room he felt himself more at home, and it was here that he spent all his leisure hours, in making preparations, and in pushing his inquiries in anatomy and physiology beyond the point which his predecessors had attained. Since the time of Vesalius anatomy had been prosecuted with great zeal and success by eminent men, both in England and on the Continent, and the most important parts of the human body had been more or less accurately described. There still remained, however, many minor parts, the structure of which had not been fully made out, and the newly discovered system of the lymphatics was as yet but imperfectly known. The invention of various modes of injecting the vessels had of late greatly facilitated researches into the minute structure of parts. Many able anatomists in the various schools of Europe were ardently engaged in pursuing such re- searches, and by none were they carried on with more zeal than by the Hunters. A natural consequence of this direction of many minds to one object was, that a new discovery was frequently made nearly at the same time by different inquirers, and it became difficult to ap- portion the degree of credit due to each. The eagerness of the claimants for honour often led to disputes, in which far more warmth was displayed than the point in question merited, so that on reading the annals of these paper wars, we cannot but feel surprise at the violence shown about matters of such little mo-» ment. Dr. Hunter himself was a very Achilles in this sort af warfare. Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer. Jealous of his supposed rights, and unwilling to admit the possi- bility of a discovery occurring to two independent inquirers, he was far too apt to accuse his antagonists of plunder if they displayed as their own any of those anatomical trophies to which he could es- tablish a prior claim. In several of his encounters, the discoveries which gave rise to them were due in great part to John, who, being far more dexte- rous with the scalpel than the pen, left the defence of their common property to William, whose literary attainments better fitted him for the service, and who displayed considerable ability in its per- formance. Two of these disputes were with the Munros: the one, as to the first successful injection of the tubuli testis with mercury; the other, as to the discovery of the true office of the lymphatics. In both cases Dr, 4*