The practical medicine of to-day : two addresses delivered before the British Medical Association, and the Epidemiological Society / by Sir William Jenner.

  • Jenner, William, Sir, 1815-1898.
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The practical medicine of to-day : two addresses delivered before the British Medical Association, and the Epidemiological Society / by Sir William Jenner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    the direct result of the labours of a single man. All but invariably it has resulted from the successive labours of many men. And again, it must not be overlooked that, in regard of the advances of Medicine as a practical art, the silent workers render most efficient aid; the results of their unspoken experience confirming or refuting the published assertions of the few. It is to the experience of the mass of the profession that we look for the final establishment of doctrine and of rules of practice. In the selection I am about to make, in confirmation of the statement that our science, in its advance as a prac- tical art, stands second to none, I am conscious that I shall pass by some facts which others will think of greater value than those I have chosen as illustrations; and that others would prefer to illustrate the truth of the position I have taken by reference to more general and abstract principles. But I have been guided in my choice, first, by a desire to avoid disputed facts and theories; and secondly, by a con- sideration of those things which have aided me the most frequently and effectually at the bed-side when asking myself those two great questions which are hourly present- ing themselves to the mind of the practitioner—What is the illness of the patient ?—What will do him good ? Those points have been to me of the greatest practical service when teaching the student at the bed-side. It is clinical teaching that brings most closely home to a physi- cian the importance of every advance in our practical knowledge. By thus limiting myself, I feel that, while this ad-