An atlas of plates illustrative of The principles and practice of obstetric medicine and surgery : with descriptive letter press / by Francis H. Ramsbotham.

  • Ramsbotham Francis H. (Francis Henry), 1800-1868.
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An atlas of plates illustrative of The principles and practice of obstetric medicine and surgery : with descriptive letter press / by Francis H. Ramsbotham. 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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    9. PREFACE. could be adduced to prove the fallacy of the latter assump- tion, hut they are foreign to our immediate purpose. And although the change has been eflPected but slowly, the prejudice existing in the female breast has now, happily for them, given way to a sense of the security they enjoy in placing themselves under the superintendence of well- educated surgeons. The continental universities took the lead in enrolling r/iiWz^i/ery, as it is called, among their obligatory studies; and most of the British institutions of a like nature have tardily followed ip their steps. It cannot be necessary to enforce by reasoning the propriety of the regulations they have adopted ; but whatever circumstances may have impelled them to such decisions, cannot be devoid of interest, and are therefore worthy of being recorded. As far as the London corporations are concerned, much may be attributed to the exertions of a society established in 1826, under the title of the Obstetric Society of London. This body consisted of about thirty members, embracing, with the exception of two or three, all the then present and late lecturers on obstetric medicine in London, besides a few other practitioners; and the editor of this work acted as honorary secretary. The object of the society was to place the practice of obstetric medicine on a more respec- table footing than it had hitherto enjoyed. It was pro- posed to accomplish this by inducing the Colleges of Phy- sicians and Surgeons of this city to abrogate their bye- laws, which precluded practitioners in midwifery from the fellowship of the one, and a seat at the council-board of the other ; and by requiring the College of Surgeons, and Society of Apothecaries, not only to make obstetric science the subject of examination, but to oblige all can- didates who offered themselves for their diploma to adduce testimonials of having diligently applied themselves to its study.