PROGRESS IN MEDICINE.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17452, 12 July 1928, Page 9

PROGRESS IN MEDICINE.

LECTURE BY DR. DOUGLAS. WEIRD METHODS OF THE PAST. A PROFESSION WITH NO SECRETS. The first of the series of medical lectures arranged by the Workers Educational Association and the British Medical Association was given by Dr. Hugh Douglas in the High School hall last evening. About 40 members joined the class. The subject ot the evening was. 'The History of Medical Progress." Dr. Douglas said medical history' began with Egypt and Babylon. The legal code displayed in the streets of Babylon enacted that "If a doctor has ! treated a gentleman for a severe wound with a bronze lancet and has cured the man, he shall take ten shekels of silver." and so forth. If the surgeon failed, his hands were to be cut off —a penalty fortunately not exacted in these days in case of mishap. The Egyptian doctors were largely priests and magicians, relying on incantations as well as drugs. The Creek Hipocrates was the father of medicine. He was a great believer in the healing power of nature, and much of what lie taught was still recognised as correct. Treatment was carried on in temples, but before patients were allowed to enter the temple they had to undergo a process of publication including abstention of wine and fasting for a-period. The next great teacher was the philosopher Aristotle, who founded a medical centre at Alexandria. A hindrance to the development of medicine was the legal ban on the dissection of the human body. In Rome Galen, about 130 a-d., wrote medical books to the number of G 9, and these were regarded as the literature of medicine up till the 15lh century. He was, unfortunately, regarded as infallible and a man who dared to dispute his findings was burned at the stake. Medicine during those centuries made no progress. In the 15th century the Swiss Paracelsus struck out on his own and toured Europe lecturing. He had great, success and developed a great selfconceit. His breaking away from old traditions liberated the forces of progress. Then came the beginning of the practice of dissection, by the Belgian VesaliusCirculation of the Blood. The next landmark was the discovery of the circulation of the blood by William Harvey, the Englishman, court physician to Charles I. It was just 300 years ago that Harvey published his great discovery- and the tercentenary had recently been celebrated in London. Medical practice in those days was rather queer. Some of the prescriptions were disgusting and some ridiculous. For instance, Sir K. Digby was credited with one reading somewhat as follows: "Pare the patient's nails, put the parings in a bag and hang them around a live eel. Assuredly the eel will die and the patient will' recover." The . great importance of Harvey's work lay in his adoption of the experimental method- Others followed his lead and discovery followed discovery in rapid succession. In 1728 John Hunter was born. He became a great physiologist and was responsible for marked progress in surgery.

Vaccination. Then came Jenner, who introduced vaccination for smallpox and practically conquered the disease which had been until then very common. Modern Surgery. Anesthesia for operations began in 1846, when the American Morton began using ether. In 1848 Simpson in Edinburgh introduced chloroform as an anaesthetic. Following this came the magnificent work of Lord Lister in developing asepsis. He carried on the work begun by Pasteur in Paris. Before Lister's time practically all wounds went septic, and patients on whom operations to the abdomen were performed almost invariably died; nowadays the mortality was less than 1 per cent. Almost all those subjected to amputation also died then from gangrene, whereas now one hardly looked for sepcis in such cases. Operations were at ,that time occasions for hustle and hurry, whereas nowadays the operating room was a place of quiet and calm. Every possible precaution was taken to prevent sepsis, the operator's mouth being covered with a mask lest any saliva should enter the wound. United for Progress. "There is room yet for tremendous progress," said Dr. Douglas. "It is cheering that great strides are being made, and one of the most cheering things is that people generally are taking an interest in medical scienceOne of the glories of the medical profession is that there are no secrete. Any discovery that is made is immediately sent all over the world—sometimes unfortunately too soon, and great disappointments result—but nothing is kept secret. There is no such thing as a secret remedy, and if one hears of a secret remedy, one must be suspicious of it." As an instance of the co-operation of the medical profession ho mentioned the great international conference for cancer research to be opened in London next Monday. The lecturer said he had hope that discoveries of value would soon be made in relation to cancer. Lantern slides were shown illustrating medical work and hospitals from very early daj;s up to the present. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer.