A probationary essay on the causes and treatment of lateral curvature of the human spine : submitted by authority of the President and his Council, to the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh when candidate for admission to their boby / by Robert Knox.

  • Knox, Robert, 1791-1862.
Date:
1825
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A probationary essay on the causes and treatment of lateral curvature of the human spine : submitted by authority of the President and his Council, to the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh when candidate for admission to their boby / by Robert Knox. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    with the civilised state of society (for they are ne- ver to be seen in savage nations), and, as shall be afterwards shewn, depend for their production on the extreme neglect of the physical education of youth, and on the excessive and injurious attention given to the education of the mind; and, in the working classes of society, on the vast prevalence of manufactures, and other sedentary employments,— so it is reasonable to presume, that it is a deformity which must dailybecome more frequent in society,un- less checked, in so far as regards the wealthy classes, by the timely interposition of the profession. Yet it appears to me evident, that, at all times, the fe- male portion of society, more especially those inha- biting cities, must have been greatly subject to the lateral distortion of the spine. Pin^msus, who wrote in 1579 *, says, that, whilst he resided at Paris, he observed curvatures of the spine to be ex- ceedingly frequent, and that this was the case in every part of the kingdom; that they affected chiefly females, and did not spare the noblest and richest fa- milies. The accuracy of the observation of Pin^eus isveryremarkable, and does him infinite credit. Con- tinuing to investigate the causes of such deformities, and the bad effects flowing from them, he remarks, * Opusc. Physiol, et Anatom.