Address to the Medical Society of London : together with some correspondence relative to a consultation at Norwich.

  • Murphy, Edward William, 1802-1877.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Address to the Medical Society of London : together with some correspondence relative to a consultation at Norwich. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    15/16 (page 15)
    j question. You will not bo surprised that. I I should feel such a course ns this perfectly I uncalled for by tho facts of tho case. As I I am conscious that my certificate, if perfectly I true, eoidd cast no reflection upon Mr. I Cooper; as I have given him every oppor- I tunity to remove any erroneous impres- I sion which might exist by an explanation I of my meaning ; and as, further, tho prac- I tical effect of my opinion was to reinstate Mr. Cooper by the dismissal of Dr. Bell, I am at a loss to perceive in what respect I he is an aggrieved person ; still less can I I understand his right to adopt such a pro- I text in order to make the appeal to the I profession he has done, or to make use of my name in a manner so unwarrantable. With respect to the second question, my reply is equally easy. I do not believe that a portion of placenta could remain in the uterus together with a subsequent ovum, or that a fresh impregnation could take | place while it was there. If, therefore, there was any evidence of abortion existing in Mrs. G-.’s case, there could have been no | diseased placenta in the uterus at the same time. Every proof of abortion negatives tli probable cause that I assigned : these proofs, however, were subsequently in possession of Mr. Cooper. When I saw the patient there was only evidence that an hydatid mass existed in the uterus. I could not find any portion of the mem- I branes, unless, indeed, a fragment of at | hydatid chorion, so thick that it looked more like placenta. Permit me again to express my surprise that such an erroneous interpretation of my certificate should be given as to make it signify that “ I have virtually given the profession the opinion that not only a re- tained placenta became hydatid, but that fresh impregnation can take place and the I new placental structure also became simi- | larly transformed.” There is nothing in my certificate 1o warrant such a meaning. In my correspondence . with Mr. Cooper I distinctly pointed out my reasons for doubt- ing that Mrs. G. was pregnant when I saw her, on tlio assumption that, if she wero so, the cause could not have been what I stated. When so many errors have been made I do not wonder that the whole profession should be against me. I only trust that you will act as I am persuaded your sense of justice will dictate; that you will use your best endeavour to correct these erroneous impression, and remove the odium that, as I understand from you, has been most un- fairly cast upon me. Permit me to thank you for your evi- dently friendly observations. I beg you to believe that nothing is more repugnant to my feelings than “ to bolster up the repu- tation of a homoeopath.” I never in my life gave any countenance to irregular prac- titioners. With regard to Dr. Bell, I know nothing of him more than that be was qualified to practise. In my intercourse with him I found him in every respect a gentleman. When I met him I did not know he was a homoeopath ; and, in our subsequent con- versation, all that I could learn of bis ho- moeopathic tendencies was that he some- times adopted it. Dr. Bell seemed to me to be just in the same position as some of our most respectable men here, nibbling at homoeopathy but afraid to bite. I had no way of judging of his merits or demerits except through tho press or Mr. Cooper, and the spirit of animosity was such that I did not feel authorised to adopt the opi- nions of either without a more certain knowledge of him. I remain, dear sir, Very faithfully yours, Edwaed W. Mtjephy. Wi Ison ami Ojfilvy, 57, Skinner Street, Snow hill. Lorn Ion.