The healing art in its historic and prophetic aspects : the Harveian oration delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, Oct. 19, 1885 / by Richard Quain.

Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The healing art in its historic and prophetic aspects : the Harveian oration delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, Oct. 19, 1885 / by Richard Quain. 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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    I migM dwell, did time allow me ; but I can only refer in a word to the evidence which the examination of the urine furnishes of the remarkable relation which exists in a great number of instances, not only between the liver and glycosuria, but between the liver and azoturia and albuminuria. The subject is one of deep and general interest, fully demanding investigation, (s) Special No advance has been more important than that of the FnXi^-^^ differentiation of the several forms of fever—an advance gnosis. to which you. Sir, have yourself so largely contributed. The increase of our knowledge of the symptomatology of diseases of the nervous system has been equally marked. In all directions we may note greater definiteness of knowledge and of diagnostic power. Many forms of disease, previously unknown, are now recogmisable by the exercise of ordinary carefulness. In a word, it may be said that those only who lived in what may be called the pre-accurate period of medicine, and who are still engaged in practice, can appreciate the vast improvements which have been introduced in the course of a professional lifetime in the arb of the obser- vation of disease, or can perceive how some of these are suggestive of still greater results in the future. In speaking of the progress of medicine I would of course be understood to include those departments which have been somewhat arbitrarily separated from it—surgery and gynaecology. But as special branches of the healing art their advancement has been so considerable as to demand for the full exposition of each some one more competent for the duty than I can have any claim to be. Thera- I now come to a most important part of my present peutics. ixiquiry: the practical application to treatment of the great advances which I have just recorded in the medical sciences. We must not forget, in our enthusiasm as scientific observers, that our very raison d'etre as physicians is the prevention and cure of disease. With these two