A few thoughts on the necessity of medical reformation : in a lecture delivered before the class of the Reformed Medical School of Cincinnati, Ohio, November 6, 1843 / by T.V. Morrow.

  • Morrow, T. V. (Thomas Vaughan), 1804-1850.
Date:
1844
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A few thoughts on the necessity of medical reformation : in a lecture delivered before the class of the Reformed Medical School of Cincinnati, Ohio, November 6, 1843 / by T.V. Morrow. 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.)

    11/24
    medicines in any way whatever. Nor does the above sketch cover the whole ground. Wc see those who may have had the misfortune to come under the mercurial influeucc, at least, many of them, rendered much more susceptible to the influeuce of the ordinary causes of dis- ease—every approaching change in the state of the weather can be foretold with a great degree of exactitude; ulceration of the gums, and loosening of the teeth, a coppery or metalic taste in the mouth, restless anxiety, general debility, and a very distressed and irritable state of the whole system; stiffness of joints, ulceration of the bones, swelling and soreness of the tongue, palate and gums; an indescriba- ble state of uneasiness and lassitude, which disqualifies the individual for every enjoyment in life. These are a few of the legitimate and unavoidable fruits of the mercurial practice. Leaving out of the question that vast multitude of invalids whose lives have been made the sport of its magic powers by the destruction of a large proportion of the face, as well as the corrosion and dismemberment of a great proportion of the inferior jaw-bone, being forced to drag out a miser- able remnant of existence in this deplorable condition, or with other disorganizations even worse, unfit to be received into the social circle, shunned by former friends and associates as the pitiable and unfortu- nate outcasts of society, whose subsequent pilgrimage on earth is but one continued scene of misery and pain, rendered doubly insupporta- ble from the consideration that it arises in most cases from no fault of their own, but from a too confiding creduiity in the efficacy and just just adaptation of one of the prominent remedies of the popular prac- ! tice of the day. 1 But we are gravely told by the advocates of this course of manage- ment, that these disastrous results are indeed nothing but the abuses of 'the article in question, and that inasmuch as it is capable of producing i beneficial effects it would therefore be improper to reject it entirely as a remedial agent. • These men contend strongly for what they are pleased to denomin- ate its judicious use. This, however, involves the consideration of the question: Is it possible so to use mercurials as to avoid these unpleas- :ant consequences and obtain their beneficial effects? as well as the 'following question: Can the mercurial medicines be successfully sub- ?stituted by others, that are entirely safe in theii application, and capa- ble of accomplishing every salutary effect which has ever been claimed fifor them? i A most ample experience in the treatment of nearly every conceiv- able modification and form of disease incident to this country, for the I last seventeen years has most thoroughly convinced me that the former of these questions may be safely answered in the negative; and the lat- ter unhesitatingly in the affirmative. i In proof of the negative, so far as the first query is concerned, it is only necessary to refer to the well known fact, that in their opeiation on the human system, the mercurials are exceedingly uncertain: some- times operating with dangerous violence, and occasionally producing :fata,l consequences, at others producing no perceptible effect whatev- er even when administered under the direction and in accordance 'with the views of the most c_xj2ericnced, learned, and eminent member*