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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a77a1a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69167 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69167) diff --git a/old/69167-0.txt b/old/69167-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 84c73ca..0000000 --- a/old/69167-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2038 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Body-snatching, by Anonymous - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Body-snatching - -Author: Anonymous - -Release Date: October 16, 2022 [eBook #69167] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - available at The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BODY-SNATCHING *** - - - - - - BODY-SNATCHING. - - Published by - - BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, - - LONDON. - - 1824. - - - T. C. HANSARD, - Pater-noster-row Press. - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT. - - -The following pages are reprinted, with some modification, from the -third Number of the Westminster Review. They treat of a subject on which -it is of great importance that the public should be well informed, and -it is in order to facilitate the circulation of the knowledge which they -communicate respecting it, that the proprietors of the above-mentioned -work have liberally consented to the re-publication of this article in -the form of a pamphlet. - - - - -BODY-SNATCHING. - - -Every one desires to live as long as he can. Every one values health -“above all gold and treasure.” Every one knows that, as far as his own -individual good is concerned, protracted life and a frame of body sound -and strong, free from the thousand pains which flesh is heir to, are -unspeakably more important than all other objects, because life and -health must be secured before any possible result of any possible -circumstance can be of consequence to him. In the improvement of the art -which has for its object the preservation of health and life, every -individual is, therefore, deeply interested. An enlightened physician -and a skilful surgeon, are in the daily habit of administering to their -fellow men more real and unquestionable good, than is communicated, or -communicable by any other class of human beings to another. Ignorant -physicians and surgeons are the most deadly enemies of the community: -the plague itself is not so destructive: its ravages are at distant -intervals, and are accompanied with open and alarming notice of its -purpose and power; theirs are constant, silent, secret; and it is while -they are looked up to as saviours, with the confidence of hope, that -they give speed to the progress of disease and certainty to the stroke -of death. - -It is deeply to be lamented that the community, in general, are so -entirely ignorant of all that relates to the art and the science of -medicine. An explanation of the functions of the animal economy; of -their most common and important deviations from a healthy state; of the -remedies best adapted to restore them to a sound condition, and of the -mode in which they operate, as far as that is known, ought to form a -part of every course of liberal education. The profound ignorance of the -people on all these subjects is attended with many disadvantages to -themselves, and operates unfavourably on the medical character. In -consequence of this want of information, persons neither know what are -the attainments of the man in whose hands they place their life, nor -what they ought to be; they can neither form an opinion of the course of -education which it is incumbent upon him to follow, nor judge of the -success with which he has availed himself of the means of knowledge -which have been afforded him. There is one branch of medical education -in particular, the foundation, in fact, on which the whole -superstructure must be raised, the necessity of which is not commonly -understood, but which requires only to be stated to be perceived. -Perhaps it is impossible to name any one subject which it is of more -importance that the community should understand. It is one in which -every man’s life is deeply implicated: it is one on which every man’s -ignorance or information will have some influence. We shall therefore, -show the kind of knowledge which it is indispensable that the physician -and the surgeon should possess: we shall illustrate, by a reference to -particular cases, the reason why knowledge of this kind cannot be -dispensed with: and we shall explain, by a statement of facts, the -nature and extent of the obstacles which at present oppose the -acquisition of this knowledge. We repeat, there is no subject in which -every reader can be so immediately and deeply interested, and we trust -that he will give us his calm and unprejudiced attention. - -The basis of all medical and surgical knowledge is anatomy. Not a -single step can be made either in medicine or surgery, considered either -as an art or a science, without it. This should seem self-evident, and -to need neither proof nor illustration: nevertheless as it is useful -occasionally to contemplate the evidence of important truth, we shall -show why it is that there can be no rational medicine, and no safe -surgery, without a thorough knowledge of anatomy. - -Disease, which it is the object of these arts to prevent and to cure, is -denoted by disordered function: disordered function cannot be understood -without a knowledge of healthy function; healthy function cannot be -understood without a knowledge of structure; structure cannot be -understood unless it be examined. - -The organs on which all the important functions of the human body depend -are concealed from the view. There is no possibility of ascertaining -their situation and connections, much less their nature and operation, -without inspecting the interior of this curious and complicated machine. -The results of the mechanism are visible; the mechanism itself is -concealed, and must be investigated to be perceived. The operations of -nature are seldom entirely hidden from the human eye; still less are -they obtruded upon it, but over the most curious and wonderful -operations of the animal economy so thick a veil is drawn, that they -never could have been perceived without the most patient and minute -research. The circulation of the blood, for example, never could have -been discovered without dissection. Notwithstanding the partial -knowledge of anatomy which must have been acquired by the accidents to -which the human body is exposed, by attention to wounded men, by the -observance of bodies killed by violence; by the huntsman in using his -prey; by the priest in immolating his victims; by the augur in pursuing -his divinations; by the slaughter of animals; by the dissection of -brutes; and even occasionally by the dissection of the human body, -century after century passed away, without a suspicion having been -excited of the real functions of the two great systems of vessels, -arteries and veins. It was not until the beginning of the 17th century, -when anatomy was ardently cultivated, and had made considerable -progress, that the valves of the veins and of the heart were discovered, -and subsequently that the great Harvey, the pupil of the anatomist who -discovered the latter, by inspecting the structure of these valves; by -contemplating their disposition; by reasoning upon their use, was led to -suspect the course of the blood, and afterwards to demonstrate it. -Several systems of vessels in which the most important functions of -animal life are carried on--the absorbent system, for example, and even -that portion of it which receives the food after it is digested, and -which conveys it into the blood, are invisible to the naked eye, except -under peculiar circumstances: whence it must be evident, not only that -the interior of the human body must be laid open, in order that its -organs may be seen; but that these organs must be minutely and patiently -dissected, in order that their structure may be understood. - -The most important diseases have their seat in the organs of the body; -an accurate acquaintance with their situation is, therefore, absolutely -necessary, in order to ascertain the seats of disease; but for the -reasons already assigned, their situation cannot be learnt, without the -study of anatomy. In several regions, organs the most different in -structure and function are placed close to each other. In what is termed -the epigastric region, for example, are situated the stomach, the liver, -the gall bladder, the first portion of the small intestine (the -duodenum) and a portion of the large intestine (the colon); each of -these organs is essentially different in structure and in use, and is -liable to distinct diseases. Diseases the most diversified, therefore -requiring the most opposite treatment, may exist in the same region of -the body; the discrimination of which is absolutely impossible, without -that knowledge which the study of anatomy alone can impart. - -The seat of pain is often at a great distance from that of the affected -organ. In disease of the liver, pain is generally felt at the top of the -right shoulder. The right phrenic nerve sends a branch to the liver: the -third cervical nerve, from which the phrenic arises, distributes -numerous branches to the neighbourhood of the shoulder: thus is -established a nervous communication between the shoulder and the liver. -This is a fact which nothing but anatomy could teach, and affords the -explanation of a symptom which nothing but anatomy could give. The -knowledge of it would infallibly correct a mistake into which a person -who is ignorant of it would be sure to fall: in fact, persons ignorant -of it do constantly commit the error. We have known several instances in -which organic disease of the liver has been considered, and treated as -rheumatism of the shoulder. In each of these cases, disease in a most -important organ might have been allowed to steal on insidiously until it -became incurable: while a person, acquainted with anatomy, would have -detected it at once, and cured it without difficulty. Many cases have -occurred of persons who have been supposed to labour under disease of -the liver, and who have been treated accordingly: on examination after -death, the liver has been found perfectly healthy, but there has been -discovered extensive disease of the brain. Disease of the liver is often -mistaken for disease of the lungs: on the other hand, the lungs have -been found full of ulcers, when they were supposed to have been -perfectly sound, and when every symptom was referred to disease of the -liver. Persons are constantly attacked with convulsions--children -especially; convulsions are spasms: spasms, of course, are to be treated -by antispasmodics. This is the notion amongst people ignorant of -medicine: it is the notion amongst old medical men: it is the notion -amongst half-educated young ones. All this time these convulsions are -merely a symptom; that symptom depends upon, and denotes, most important -disease in the brain: the only chance of saving life, is the prompt and -vigorous application of proper remedies to the brain; but the -practitioner whose mind is occupied with the symptom, and who prescribes -antispasmodics, not only loses the time in which alone any thing can be -done to snatch the victim from death, but by his remedies absolutely -adds fuel to the flame which is consuming his patient. In disease of the -hip-joint pain is felt, not in the hip, but, in the early stage of the -disease, at the knee. This also depends on nervous communication. The -most dreadful consequences daily occur from an ignorance of this single -fact. In all these cases error is inevitable, without a knowledge of -anatomy: it is scarcely possible with it: in all these cases error is -fatal: in all these cases anatomy alone can prevent the error--anatomy -alone can correct it. Experience, so far from leading to its detection, -would only establish it in men’s minds, and render its removal -impossible. What is called experience is of no manner of use to an -ignorant and unreflecting practitioner. In nothing does the adage, that -it is the wise only who profit by experience, receive so complete an -illustration as in medicine. A man who is ignorant of certain -principles, and who is incapable of reasoning in a certain manner, may -have daily before him, for fifty years, cases affording the most -complete evidence of the truth of those principles, and of the -importance of the deduction to which they lead, without observing the -one, or deducing the other. Hence the most profoundly ignorant of -medicine are often the oldest members of the profession, and those who -have had the most extensive practice. A medical education, founded on a -knowledge of anatomy, is, therefore, not only indispensable to prevent -the most fatal errors, but to enable a person to obtain advantage from -those sources of improvement which extensive practice may open to him. - -To the surgeon, anatomy is eminently what Bacon has so beautifully said -knowledge in general is: it is power--it is power to lessen pain, to -save life, and to eradicate diseases, which, without its aid, would be -incurable and fatal. It is impossible to convey to the reader a clear -conception of this truth, without a reference to particular cases; and -the subject is one of such extreme importance, that it may be worth -while to direct the attention for a moment to two or three of the -capital diseases which the surgeon is daily called upon to treat. -Aneurism, for example, is a disease of an artery, and consists of a -preternatural dilatation of its coats. This dilatation arises from -debility of the vessel, whence, unable to resist the impetus of the -blood, it yields, and is dilated into a sac. When once the disease is -induced, it commonly goes on to increase with a steady and uninterrupted -progress, until at last it suddenly bursts, and the patient expires -either instantaneously from loss of blood, or by degrees from repeated -losses. When left to itself, it almost uniformly proves fatal in one or -other of these modes; yet, before the time of Galen, no notice was taken -of this terrible malady. The ancients, indeed, who believed that the -arteries were air tubes, could have had no conception of the existence -of an aneurism. Were the number of individuals in Europe, who are now -annually cured of aneurism, by the interference of art, to be assumed as -the basis of a calculation of the number of persons who must have -perished by this disease, from the beginning of the world to the time of -Galen, it would convey some conception of the extent to which anatomical -knowledge is the means of saving human life. - -The only way in which it is possible to cure this disease is, to produce -an obliteration of the cavity of the artery. This is the object of the -operation. The diseased artery is exposed, and a ligature is passed -around it, above the dilatation, by means of which the blood is -prevented from flowing into the sac, and inflammation is excited in the -vessel; in consequence of which its sides adhere together, and its -cavity becomes obliterated. The success of the operation depends -entirely on the completeness of the adhesion of the sides of the vessel, -and the consequent obliteration of its cavity. This adhesion will not -take place unless the portion of the artery to which the ligature is -applied be in a sound state. If it be diseased, as it almost always is -near the seat of the aneurism, when the process of nature is completed -by which the ligature is removed, hemorrhage takes place, and the -patient dies just as if the aneurism had been left to itself. For a long -time the ligature was applied as close as possible to the seat of the -aneurism: the aneurismal sac was laid open in its whole extent, and the -blood it contained was scooped out. The consequence, was that a large -deep-seated sore, composed of parts in an unhealthy state, was formed: -it was necessary to the cure, that this sore should suppurate, -granulate, and heal: a process which the constitution was frequently -unable to support. Moreover, there was a constant danger that the -patient would perish from hemorrhage, through the want of adhesion of -the sides of the artery. The profound knowledge of healthy and of -diseased structure, and of the laws of the animal economy by which both -are regulated, which John Hunter had acquired from anatomy, suggested to -this eminent man a mode of operating, the effect of which, in preserving -human life, has placed him high in the rank of the benefactors of his -race. This consummate anatomist saw, that the reason why death so often -followed the common operation was, because that process which was -essential to its success was prevented by the diseased condition of the -artery. He perceived that the vessel, at some distance from the -aneurism, was in a sound state; and conceived that, if the ligature were -applied to this distant part, that is, to a sound instead of a diseased -portion of the artery, this necessary process would not be counteracted. -To this there was one capital objection, that it would often be -necessary to apply the ligature around the main trunk of an artery, -before it gives off its branches, in consequence of which the parts -below the ligature would be deprived of their supply of blood, and would -therefore mortify. So frequent and great are the communications between -all the arteries of the body, however, that he thought it probable, that -a sufficient supply would be borne to these parts through the medium of -collateral branches. For an aneurism in the ham, he, therefore, boldly -cut down upon the main trunk of the artery which supplies the lower -extremity; and applied a ligature around it, where it is seated near the -middle of the thigh, in the confident expectation that, though he thus -deprived the limb of the supply of blood which it received through its -direct channel, it would not perish. His knowledge of the processes of -the animal economy led him to expect that the force of the circulation -being thus taken off from the aneurismal sac, the progress of the -disease would be stopped; that the sac itself, with all its contents, -would be absorbed; that by this means the whole tumour would be removed, -and that an opening into it would be unnecessary. The most complete -success followed this noble experiment, and the sensations which this -philosopher experienced when he witnessed the event, must have been -exquisite, and have constituted an appropriate reward for the -application of profound knowledge to the mitigation of human suffering. -After Hunter followed Abernethy, who, treading in the footsteps of his -master, for an aneurism of the femoral, placed a ligature around the -external iliac artery; lately the internal iliac itself has been taken -up, and surgeons have tied arteries of such importance, that they have -been themselves astonished at the extent and splendor of their success. -Every individual on whom an operation of this kind has been successfully -performed, is snatched by it from certain and inevitable death! - -The symptom by which an aneurism is distinguished from every other -tumour is, chiefly, its pulsating motion. But when an aneurism has -become very large, it ceases to pulsate; and when an abscess is seated -near an artery of great magnitude, it acquires a pulsating motion; -because the pulsations of the artery are perceptible through the -abscess. The real nature of cases of this kind cannot possibly be -ascertained, without a most careful investigation, combined with an -exact knowledge of the structure and relative position of all the parts -in the neighbourhood of the tumour. Pelletan, one of the most -distinguished surgeons of France, was one day called to a man who, after -a long walk, was seized with a severe pain in the leg, over the seat of -which appeared a tumour, which was attended with a pulsation so violent -that it lifted up the hand of the examiner. There seemed every reason to -suppose that the case was an aneurismal swelling. This acute observer, -however, in comparing the affected with the sound limb, perceived in the -latter a similar throbbing. On careful examination he discovered that, -by a particular disposition in this individual, one of the main arteries -of the leg (the anterior tibial) deviated from its usual course, and -instead of plunging deep between the muscles, lay immediately under the -skin and fascia. The truth was, that the man in the exertion of walking -had ruptured some muscular fibres, and the uncommon distribution of the -artery gave to this accident these peculiar symptoms. The real nature of -this case could not possibly have been ascertained, but by an anatomist. -The same surgeon has recorded the case of a man who, having fallen twice -from his horse, and experienced for several years considerable -uneasiness in his back, was at length afflicted with acute pain in the -abdomen. At the same time an oval, irregularly circumscribed tumour made -its appearance in the right flank. It presented a distinct fluctuation, -and had all the appearance of a collection of matter depending on caries -of the vertebræ. The pain was seated chiefly at the lower portion of -that part of the spine which forms the back, which was, moreover, -distorted; and this might have confirmed the opinion that the case was a -lumbar abscess with caries. Pelletan, however, who well knew that an -aneurism, as it enlarges, may destroy any bone in its neighbourhood, saw -that the disease was an aneurism, and predicted that the patient must -perish. On opening the body (for the man lived only ten days after -Pelletan first saw him) an aneurismal tumour was discovered, which -nearly filled the cavity of the abdomen. If this case had been mistaken -for lumbar abscess, and the tumour had been opened with a view of -affording an exit to the matter, the man would have died in a few -seconds. There is no surgeon of discernment and experience whose -attention has not been awakened, and whose sagacity has not been put to -the test, by the occurrence of similar cases in his own practice. The -consequence of error is almost always instantaneously fatal. The -catalogue of such disastrous events is long and melancholy. Richerand -has recorded, that Ferrand, head surgeon of the Hotel-Dieu, mistook an -aneurism in the armpit for an abscess; plunged his knife into the -swelling, and killed the patient. De Haen speaks of a person who died in -consequence of an opening which was made, contrary to the advice of -Boerhaave in a similar tumour at the knee. Vesalius was consulted about -a tumour in the back, which he pronounced to be an aneurism; but an -ignorant practitioner having made an opening into it, the patient -instantly bled to death. Nothing can be more easy than to confound an -aneurism of the artery of the neck with a swelling of the glands in its -neighbourhood: with a swelling of the cellular substance which surrounds -the artery; with abscesses of various kinds; but if a surgeon were to -fall into this error, and to open a carotid aneurism, his patient would -certainly be dead in the space of a few moments. It must be evident, -then, that a thorough knowledge of anatomy is not only indispensable to -the proper treatment of cases of this description, but also to the -prevention of the most fatal mistakes. - -There is nothing in surgery of more importance than the proper treatment -of hemorrhage. Of the confusion and terror occasioned by the sight of a -human being from whom the blood is gushing in torrents, and whose -condition none of the spectators is able to relieve, no one can form an -adequate conception, but those who have witnessed it. In all such cases -there is one thing proper to be done, the prompt performance of which is -generally as certainly successful, as the neglect of it is inevitably -fatal. It is impossible to conceive of a more terrible situation than -that of a medical man who knows not what to do on such an emergency. He -is confused; he hesitates: while he is deciding what measures to adopt -the patient expires: he can never think of that man’s death without -horror, for he is conscious that, but for his ignorance he might have -averted his patient’s fate. The ancient surgeons were constantly placed -in this situation, and the dread inspired by it retarded the progress of -surgery more than all other causes put together. Not only were they -terrified from interfering with the most painful and destructive -diseases, which experience has proved to be capable of safe and easy -removal, but they were afraid to cut even the most trivial tumour. When -they ventured to remove a part, they attempted it only by means of the -ligature, or by the application of burning irons. When they determined -to amputate, they never thought of doing so, until the limb had -mortified, and the dead had separated from the living parts; for they -were absolutely afraid to cut into the living flesh. They had no means -of stopping hemorrhage, but by the application of astringents to the -bleeding vessels, remedies which were inert; or of burning irons, or -boiling turpentine, expedients which were not only inert but cruel. -Surgeons now know that the grand means of stopping hemorrhage is -compression of the bleeding vessel. If pressure be made on the trunk of -an artery, though blood be flowing from a thousand branches given off -from it, the bleeding will cease. Should the situation of the artery be -such as to allow of effectual external pressure, nothing further is -requisite: the pressure being applied, the bleeding is stopped at once: -should the situation of the vessel place it beyond the reach of external -pressure, it is necessary to cut down upon it, and to secure it by the -application of a ligature. Parè may be pardoned for supposing that he -was led to the discovery of this invaluable remedy by inspiration of the -Deity. By means of it the most formidable operations may be undertaken -with the utmost confidence, because the wounded vessels can be secured -the moment they are cut: by the same means the most frightful -hemorrhages may be effectually stopped: and even when the bleeding is so -violent as to threaten immediate death, it may often be averted by the -simple expedient of placing the finger upon the wounded vessel, until -there is time to tie it. But it is obvious that none of these expedients -can be employed, and that these bleedings can neither be checked at the -moment, nor permanently stopped, without such a knowledge of the course -of the trunks and branches of vessels, as can be acquired only by the -study of anatomy. - -The success of amputation is closely connected with the knowledge of the -means of stopping hemorrhage. Not to amputate, is often to abandon the -patient to a certain and miserable death. And all that the surgeon -formerly did, was to watch the progress of that death: he had no power -to stop or even to retard it. The fate of sir Philip Sidney is a -melancholy illustration of this truth. This noble-minded man, the light -and glory of his age, was cut off in the bloom of manhood, and the midst -of his usefulness, by the wound of a musket bullet in his left leg, a -little above the knee, “when extraction of the ball, or amputation of -the limb,” says his biographer, “would have saved his inestimable life: -but the surgeons and physicians were unwilling to practice the one, and -knew not how to perform the other. He was variously tormented by a -number of surgeons and physicians for three weeks.” Amputation indeed -was never attempted except where mortification had itself half performed -the operation. The just apprehension of an hemorrhage which there was no -adequate means of stopping, checked the hand of the boldest surgeon, and -quailed the courage of the most daring patient--and if ever the -operation was resorted to, it almost always proved fatal: the patient -generally expired, according to the expression of Celsus, “_in ipso -opere_.” How could it be otherwise? The surgeon cut through the flesh of -his patient with a red hot knife: this was his only means of stopping -the hemorrhage: by this expedient he sought to convert the whole surface -of the stump into an eschar: but this operation, painful in its -execution, and terrible in its consequences, when it even appeared to -succeed, succeeded only for a few days; for the bleeding generally -returned and proved fatal as soon as the sloughs or dead parts became -loose. Plunging the stump into boiling oil, into boiling turpentine, -into boiling pitch, for all these means were used, was attended with no -happier result, and after unspeakable suffering, almost every patient -perished. In the manner in which amputation is performed at present, not -more than one person in twenty loses his life in consequence of the -operation, even taking into the account all the cases in which it is -practised in hospitals. In private practice, where many circumstances -favour its success, it is computed that 95 persons out of 100 recover -from it, when it is performed at a proper time, and in a proper manner. -It seems impossible to exhibit a more striking illustration of the great -value of anatomical knowledge. - -But if there be any disease which, from the frequency of its occurrence, -from the variety of its forms, from the difficulty of discriminating -between it, and other maladies, and from the danger attendant on almost -all its varieties, requires a combination of the most minute -investigation, with the most accurate anatomical knowledge, it is that -of hernia. This disease consists of a protrusion of some of the viscera -of the abdomen, from the cavity in which they are naturally contained, -into a preternatural bag, composed of the portion of the peritoneum (the -membrane which lines the abdomen) which is pushed before them. It is -computed that one sixteenth of the human race are afflicted with this -malady. It is sometimes merely an inconvenient complaint, attended with -no evil consequences whatever: but there is no form of this disease, -which is not liable to be suddenly changed, and by slight causes, from a -perfectly innocent state, into a condition which may prove fatal in a -few hours. The disease itself occurs in numerous situations; it may be -confounded with various diseases; it may exist in the most diversified -states; it may require, without the loss of a single moment, a most -important and delicate operation; and it may appear to demand this -operation, while the performance of it may really be not only useless, -but highly pernicious. - -The danger of hernia depends on its passing into that state which is -technically termed strangulation. When a protruded intestine suffers -such a degree of pressure, as to occasion a total obstruction to the -passage of its contents, it is said to be strangulated. The consequence -of pressure thus producing strangulation is, the excitement of -inflammation: this inflammation must inevitably prove fatal unless the -pressure be promptly removed. In most cases this can be effected only by -the operation. Two things, then, are indispensable: first, the ability -to ascertain that the symptoms are really produced by pressure, that is, -to distinguish the disease from the affections which resemble it; and -secondly, when this is effected, to perform the operation with -promptitude and success. The distinction of strangulated hernia from -affections which resemble it, often requires the most exact knowledge -and the most minute investigation. The intestine included in a hernial -sac may be merely affected with colic, and thus give rise to the -appearance of strangulation. It may be in a state of irritation, -produced, for example, by unusual fatigue; and from this cause may be -attacked with the symptoms of inflammation. Inflammation may be excited -in the intestine, by the common causes of inflammation, which the hernia -may have no share in inducing, and of which it may not even participate. -Were this case mistaken, and the operation performed, it would not only -be useless, but pernicious: while the attention of the practitioner -would be diverted from the real nature of the malady; the prompt and -vigorous application of the remedies which alone could save the patient -would be neglected, and he would probably perish. On the other hand, a -very small portion of intestine may become strangulated, and urgently -require the operation. But there maybe no tumor; all the symptoms may be -those, and, on a superficial examination, only those, of inflammation of -the bowels. Were the real nature of this case mistaken, death would be -inevitable. Nothing is more common than fatal errors of this kind. It is -only a few months ago, that a physician was called in haste to a person -who was said to be dying of inflammation of the bowels. Before he -reached the house the man was dead. He had been ill only three days. On -looking at the abdomen, there was a manifest hernia; the first glance -was sufficient to ascertain the fact. The practitioner in attendance had -known nothing of the matter; he had never suspected the real nature of -the disease, and had made no inquiry which could have led to the -detection of it. Here was a case which might probably have been saved, -but for the criminal ignorance and inattention of the practitioner. -Whenever there are symptoms of inflammation of the bowels, examination -of the abdomen is indispensable: and the life of the patient will often -depend on the care and accuracy with which the investigation is made. - -But it is possible that inflammation may attack the parts included in -the hernial sac, without arising from the hernia itself. The -inflammation may be produced by the common causes of inflammation: there -may be no pressure: there may be no strangulation: the swelling may be -the seat, not the cause of the disease. In this case, too, the operation -would be both useless and pernicious. Now all these are diversities -which it is of the highest importance to discriminate. In some of them -life depends on the clearness, accuracy, and promptitude, with which the -discrimination is made. Promptitude is of no less consequence than -accuracy. If the decision be not formed and acted on at once, it will be -of no avail. The rapidity of the progress of this disease is often -frightful. We have mentioned a case in which it was fatal in three days, -but it not unfrequently terminates fatally in less than twenty-four -hours. Sir Astley Cooper mentions a case in which the patient was dead -in eight hours after the commencement of the disease. Larrey has -recorded the case of a soldier in whom a hernia took place, which was -strangulated immediately. He was brought to the “ambulance” instantly, -and perished in two hours with gangrene of the part, and of the -abdominal viscera. This was the second instance which had occurred to -this surgeon of a rapidity thus appalling. What clearness of judgment, -what accuracy of knowledge, what promptitude of decision, are necessary -to treat such a disease with any chance of success! - -The moment that a case is ascertained to be strangulated hernia, an -attempt must be made to liberate the parts from the stricture, and to -replace them in their natural situation. This is first attempted by the -hand, and the operation is technically termed the _taxis_. The patient -must be placed in a particular position; pressure must be made in a -particular direction; it is impossible to ascertain either, without an -accurate knowledge of the structure of the parts. If pressure be made in -a wrong direction, and in a rough and unscientific manner, the organs -protruded instead of being urged through the proper opening are bruised -against the parts which oppose their return. Many cases are on record, -in which gangrene and even rupture of the intestine have been occasioned -in this manner. When the parts cannot be returned by the hand, assisted -by those remedies which experience has proved to be beneficial, the -operation must be performed without the delay of a moment. To its proper -performance two things are necessary. First, a minute anatomical -knowledge of the various and complicated parts which are implicated in -it; and secondly, a steady, firm, and delicate command of the knife. In -the first place, the integuments must be divided; the cellular substance -which intervenes between the skin and the hernial sac must be removed -layer by layer with the knife and the dissecting forceps; the sac itself -must be opened: this part of the operation must be performed with the -most extreme caution: the sac being laid open, the protruded organs are -now exposed to view. The operator must next ascertain the exact point -where the stricture exists; having discovered its seat, he must make his -incision with a particular instrument--in a certain direction--to a -definite extent. On account of the nature of the parts implicated in the -operation, and the proximity of important vessels, life depends on an -exact knowledge and a precise and delicate attention to all these -circumstances. How can this knowledge be obtained, how can this -dexterity be acquired without a profound acquaintance with anatomy, and -how can this be acquired without frequent and laborious dissection? The -eye must become familiar with the appearance of the integuments, with -the appearance of the cellular substance beneath it, with the -appearance of the hernial sac, and of the changes which it undergoes by -disease; with the appearance of the various viscera contained in it, and -of their changes; and the hand must pay that steady and prompt obedience -to the judgment which nothing but knowledge and the consciousness of -knowledge can command. Even this is not all. When the operation has been -performed thus far with perfect skill and success, the most opposite -measures are required according to the actual state of the organs -contained in the sac. If they are agglutinated together--if portions of -them are in a state of mortification, to return them into the cavity of -the abdomen in that condition would in general be certain death. -Preternatural adhesion must be removed; mortified portions must be cut -away: but how can this possibly be done without an acquaintance with -healthy and diseased structure, and how can this be obtained without -dissecting the organs in a state of health and of disease? - -It has been stated that the progress of strangulated hernia to a fatal -termination is often frightfully rapid; in certain cases to delay the -operation, even for a very short period, is, therefore, to lose the only -chance of success. But ignorant and half-informed surgeons are afraid to -operate. They are conscious that the operation is one of immense -importance: they know that in the hands of an operator ignorant of -anatomy, it is one of extreme hazard: they therefore put off the time as -long as possible: they have recourse to every expedient: they resort to -every thing but the only efficient remedy, and when at last they are -compelled by a secret sense of shame to try that, it is too late. All -the best practical surgeons express themselves in the strongest language -on the importance of performing the operation early, if it be performed -at all. On this point there is a perfect accordance between the most -celebrated practitioners on the continent, and the great surgeons of our -own country: all represent, in many parts of their writings, the -dangerous and fatal effects of delay. Mr. Hey in his Practical -Observations, states that when he first began practice, he considered -the operation as the last resource, and only to be employed when the -danger appeared imminent. “By this dilatory mode of practice,” says he, -“I lost three patients in five, upon whom the operation was performed. -Having more experience of the urgency of the disease, I made it my -custom, when called to a patient who had laboured two or three days -under the disease, to wait only about two hours, that I might try the -effect of bleeding (if that evacuation was not forbidden by some -peculiar circumstance of the case) and the tobacco clyster. In this mode -of practice I lost about two patients in nine, upon whom I operated. -This comparison is drawn from cases nearly similar, leaving out of the -account those cases in which gangrene of the intestine had taken place. -I have now, at the time of writing this, performed the operation -thirty-five times; and have often had occasion to lament that I -performed it too late, but never that I had performed it too soon.” - -These observations are sufficient to show the importance of anatomy in -certain surgical diseases. The state of medical opinion from the -earliest ages to the present time, furnishes a most instructive proof of -its necessity to the detection and cure of disease in general. The -doctrines of the father of physic were in the highest degree vague and -unmeaning. Every thing is resolved by Hippocrates into a general -principle, which he terms nature; and to which he ascribes intelligence; -which he clothes with the attribute of justice; and which he represents -as possessing virtues and powers which he says are her servants, and by -means of which she performs all her operations in the bodies of animals, -distributes the blood, spirits, and heat, through all the parts of the -body, and imparts to them life and sensation. He states that the manner -in which she acts, is by attracting what is good or agreeable to each -species, and retaining, preparing, and changing it: or, on the other -hand, by rejecting whatever is superfluous or hurtful, after she has -separated it from the good. This is the foundation of the doctrine of -depuration, concoction, and crisis in fevers, so much insisted on by him -and by other physicians after him; but when he explains what he means by -nature, he resolves it into heat, which he says appears to have -something immortal in it. - -The great opponent of Hippocrates was Asclepiades. He asserted that -matter, considered in itself, is of an unchangeable nature: that all -perceptible bodies are composed of a number of small ones, termed -corpuscles, between which there are interspersed an infinity of small -spaces totally void of matter: that the soul itself is composed of these -corpuscles: that what is called nature is nothing more than matter and -motion: that Hippocrates knew not what he said when he spoke of nature -as an intelligent being, and ascribed to her various qualities and -virtues: that the corpuscles, of which all bodies are composed, are of -different figures, and consist of different assemblages: that all bodies -contain numerous pores, or interstices, which are of different sizes: -that the human body, like all other bodies, possesses pores peculiar to -itself: that these pores are larger or smaller, according as the -corpuscles which pass through them differ in magnitude: that the blood -consists of the largest and the spirits and the heat of the smallest. On -these principles Asclepiades founded his theory of medicine. He -maintains that, as long as the corpuscles are freely received by the -pores, the body remains in its natural state: that, on the contrary, as -soon as any obstacle obstructs their passage, it begins to recede from -that state: that, therefore, health depends on the just proportion -between these pores and corpuscles: that, on the contrary, disease -proceeds from a disproportion between them: that the most usual obstacle -arises from a retention of some of the corpuscles in their ordinary -passages, where they arrive in too large a number, or are of irregular -figures, or move too fast or proceed too slow: that phrensies, -lethargies, pleurisies, burning fevers, for example, are occasioned by -these corpuscles stopping of their own accord: that pain is produced by -the stagnation of the largest of all these corpuscles, of which the -blood consists: that, on the contrary, deliriums, languors, -extenuations, leanness and dropsies derive their origin from a bad state -of the pores, which are too much relaxed, or opened: that dropsy, in -particular, proceeds from the flesh being perforated with various small -holes which convert the nourishment received into them into water; that -hunger is occasioned by an opening of the large pores of the stomach and -belly: that thirst arises from an opening of the small pores: that -intermittent fevers have the same origin: that quotidian fever is -produced by a retention of the largest corpuscles; tertian fever by a -retention of corpuscles somewhat smaller; and quartan fever by a -retention of the smallest corpuscles of all. - -Galen maintained that the animal body is composed of three principles, -namely, the solids, the humours, and the spirits: that the solid parts -consist of similar and organic: that the humours are four in number, -namely, the blood, the phlegm, the yellow bile, and the black bile: that -the spirits are of three kinds, namely, the vital, the animal, and the -natural; that the vital spirit is a subtle vapour which arises from the -blood, and which derives its origin from the liver, the organ of -sanguification: that the spirits, thus formed, are conveyed to the -heart, where, in conjunction with the air drawn into the lungs by -respiration, they become the matter of the second species, namely, of -the vital spirits; that in their turn the vital spirits are changed into -the animal in the brain, and so on. - -At last came Paracelsus, who was believed to have discovered the elixir -of life, and who is the very prince of charlatans. He delivered a course -of lectures on the theory and practice of physic at the University of -Basle, which he commenced, by burning the works of Galen and Avicenna in -the presence of his auditory. He assured his hearers that his -shoe-latchets had more knowledge than both these illustrious authors put -together: that all the academies in the world had not so much experience -as his beard; and that the hair on the back of his neck was more learned -than the whole tribe of authors. It was fitting that a person of such -splendid pretensions should have a magnificent name. He, therefore, -called himself PHILIPPUS AUREOLUS THEOPHRASTUS PARACELCUS BOMBAST VON -HOHENHEIM. He was a great chemist, and, like other chemists, he was a -little too apt to carry into other sciences “the smoke and tarnish of -the furnace.” He conceived that the elements of the living system were -the same as those of his laboratory, and that sulphur, salt, and -quicksilver were the constituents of organised bodies. He taught that -these constituents were combined by chemical operations: that their -relations were governed by Archeus, a demon, who performed the part of -alchemist in the stomach, who separated the poisonous from the nutritive -part of the food, and who communicated the tincture by which the food -became capable of assimilation: that this governor of the stomach, this -_spiritus vitæ_, this astral body of man, was the immediate cause of all -diseases and the chief agent in their cure: that each member of the body -had its peculiar stomach, by which the work of secretion was effected: -that diseases were produced by certain influences, of which there were -five in particular, viz. _ens estrale_, _ens veneni_, _ens naturale_, -_ens spirituale_, and _ens deale_; that when the Archeus was sick, -putrescence was occasioned, and that either _localiter_ or -_emunctorialiter_, &c. &c. - -It would be leading to a detail which is incompatible with our present -purpose to follow these speculations, or to give an account of the -doctrines of the mechanical physicians, who believed that every -operation of the animal economy was explained by comparing it to a -system of ropes, levers, and pulleys, united with a number of rigid -tubes of different lengths and diameters, containing fluids which, from -variations in their impelling causes, moved with different degrees of -velocity: or of the chemical physicians, whose manner of theorizing and -investigating would have qualified them better for the occupation of the -brewer or of the distiller than for that of the physician. All these -speculations are idle fancies, without any evidence whatever to support -them; and it has been argued that, for this very reason, they must have -been without any practical result, and that, therefore, if they were -productive of no benefit, they were, at least, innoxious. No opinion can -be more false or pernicious. These wretched theories not only -pre-occupied the mind, prevented it from observing the real phenomena of -health and of disease, and the actual effect of the remedies which were -employed, and thus put an effectual stop to the progress of the science: -but they were productive of the most direct and serious evils. It is no -less true in medicine than in philosophy and morals, that there is no -such thing as innoxious error; that men’s opinions invariably influence -their conduct; and that physicians, like other men, act as they think. -Asclepiades, whose mind was full of corpuscles and interstices, was -intent on finding suitable remedies, which he discovered in gestation, -friction, and the use of wine. By various exercises he proposed to -render the pores more open, and to make the juices and corpuscles, the -retention of which causes disease, to pass more freely. Hence he used -gestation from the very beginning of the most burning fevers. He laid it -down as a maxim that one fever was to be cured by another; that the -strength of the patient was to be exhausted by making him watch and -endure thirst to such a degree that for the first two days of the -disorder he would not allow them to cool their mouths with a drop of -water. Abernethy’s regulated diet is luxurious living compared to his -plan of abstinence. For the three first days he allowed his patients no -aliment whatever; on the fourth, he so far relented as to give to some -of them a small portion of food; but from others he absolutely withheld -all nourishment till the seventh day. And this is the gentleman who laid -it down as a maxim that all diseases are to be cured “_Tutò, celeriter -et jucunde_.” To be sure he was a believer in the doctrine of -compensation; and in the latter stage of their diseases endeavoured to -recompence his patients for the privations he caused them to endure in -the beginning of their illness. Celsus observes that though he treated -his patients like a butcher during the first days of the disorder, he -afterwards indulged them so far as to give directions for making their -beds in the softest manner. He allowed them abundance of wine which he -gave freely in all fevers; he did not forbid it even to those afflicted -with phrenzy; nay, he ordered them to drink it till they were -intoxicated; for, said he, it is absolutely necessary that persons who -labour under phrenzy should sleep, and wine has a narcotic quality. To -lethargic patients he prescribed it with great freedom, but with the -opposite purpose of rousing them from their stupor. His great remedy in -dropsy was friction, which, of course, he employed to open the pores. -With the same view he enjoined active exercise to the sick; but what is -a little extraordinary, he denied it to those in health. - -Erisistratus, who was a great speculator, and whose theories had the -most important influence on his practice, banished blood-letting -altogether from medicine, for the following notable reasons: because, he -says, we cannot always see the vein we intend to open; because we are -not sure we may not open an artery instead of a vein; because we cannot -ascertain the true quantity to be taken; because if we take too little, -the intention is not answered; if too much, we may destroy the patient: -and because the evacuation of the venous blood is succeeded by that of -the spirits, which thus pass from the arteries into the veins; -wherefore, blood-letting ought never to be used as a remedy in disease. -Yet, though he was thus cautious in abstracting blood, it must not be -supposed that he was not a sufficiently bold practitioner. In tumour of -the liver, he hesitated not to cut open the abdomen, and to apply his -medicines immediately to the diseased organ; but though he took such -liberties with the liver, he regarded with the greatest apprehension the -operation of tapping in dropsy of the abdomen: because, said he, the -waters being evacuated, the liver which is inflamed and become hard like -a stone, is more pressed by the adjacent parts, which the waters kept at -a distance from it, whence the patient dies. - -One physician conceived that gout originated from an effervescence of -the synovia of the joints with the vitriolated blood: whence he -recommended alcohol for its cure: a remedy for which the court of -aldermen ought to have voted him a medal. A more ancient practitioner -who believed that the finger of St. Blasius was very efficacious “for -removing a bone which sticks in the throat,” maintained that gout was -the “grand drier,” and prescribed a remedy for it which the patient was -to use for a whole year, and to observe the following diet each month: -in September he must eat and drink milk; in October he must eat garlic; -in November he is to abstain from bathing; in December he must eat no -cabbage; in January he is to take a glass of pure wine in the morning; -in February to eat no beef; in March to mix several things both in -eatables and drinkables; in April not to eat horse-radish; nor in May -the fish called Polypus; in June he is to drink cold water in a morning; -in July to avoid venery; and lastly, in August to eat no mallows. - -A third physician deduced all diseases from inspissation of the fluids; -hence he attached the highest importance to diluent drinks, and -believed that tea, especially, is a sovereign remedy in almost every -disease to which the human frame is subject: “tea,” says Bentakoe, who -is loudest in his praises of this panacea, and who, as Blumenback -observes, ‘deserved to have been pensioned by the East India Company for -his services,’ “tea is the best, nay, the only remedy for correcting -viscidity of the blood, the source of all diseases, and for dissipating -the acid of the stomach, as it contains a fine oleaginous volatile salt, -and certain subtle spirits which are analogous in their nature to the -animal spirits. Tea fortifies the memory and all the intellectual -faculties: it will therefore furnish the most effectual means of -improving physical education. Against fever there is no better remedy -than forty or fifty cups of tea swallowed immediately after one another; -the slime of the pancreas is thus carried off.” - -Another physician derived all diseases from a redundancy or deficiency -of fire or water. He maintained that where the water predominated the -fluids became viscid, and that hence arose intermittent fevers and -anthritic complaints. His remedies are in strict conformity to his -theory. These diseases are to be cured by volatile salts, which abound -with fiery particles; venesection in any case is highly pernicious; -these fiery medicines are the only efficacious remedies, and are to be -employed even in diseases of the most inflammatory nature. “Life,” says -Dr. Brown, “is a forced state:” it is a flame kept alive by excitement; -every thing stimulates; some substances too violently; others not -sufficiently; there are thus too kinds of debility, indirect and direct, -and to one or other of these causes must be referred the origin of all -diseases. According to this doctrine the mode of cure is simple: we have -nothing to do but to supply, to moderate, or to abstract stimuli. Typhus -fever, in this system, is a disease of extreme debility: we must -therefore give the strongest stimulants. Consumption and apoplexy, -also, are diseases of debility; of course the remedies are active -stimulants. Humanity shudders, and with reason, at the application of -such doctrines to practice. And not less destitute of reason, and not -less dangerous in practice, is the great doctrine of debility -promulgated by Cullen. This celebrated professor taught that the -circumstance which invariably characterized fever, that which -constituted its essence, was debility. The inference was obvious, that, -above all things, the strength must be supported. The consequence was, -that blood-letting was neglected, and that bark and wine were given in -immense quantities, in cases in which intense inflammation existed. The -practice was in the highest degree mortal; the number of persons who -have perished in consequence of this doctrine is incalculable. So far -then is it from being true that medical theories are of no practical -importance, that there is the closest possible connection between the -speculations of the physician in his closet, and the measures which he -adopts at the bed side of his patient. Truth to him is a benignant power -which stops the progress of disease, protracts the duration of life, and -mitigates the suffering it may be unable to remove: error is a fearfully -active and tremendously potent principle. There is not a medical -prejudice which has not slain its thousands, nor a false theory which -has not immolated its tens of thousands. The system of medicine and -surgery which is established in any country, has a greater influence -over the lives of its inhabitants than the epidemic diseases produced by -its climate, or the decisions of its government concerning peace and -war. The devastations of the yellow fever will bear no comparison with -the ravages committed by the Brunonian system; and the slaughter of the -field of Waterloo counts not of victims, a tithe of the number of which -the Cullenian doctrine of debility can justly boast. Anatomy alone will -not teach a physician to think, much less to think justly; but it will -give him the elements of thinking; it will furnish him with the means of -correcting his errors; it will certainly save him from some delusions, -and will afford to the public the best shield against his ignorance, -which may be fatal, and against his presumption, which may be -devastating. - -We have entered into this minute detail at the hazard, we are aware, of -tiring the reader; but in the hope of leaving on his mind a more -distinct impression of the importance of anatomical knowledge than could -possibly be produced by a mere allusion to the circumstances which have -been explained. In all ages formidable obstacles have opposed the -prosecution of anatomical investigations. Among these, without doubt, -the most powerful has its source in a feeling which is natural to the -heart of man. The sweetest, the most sacred associations are -indissolubly connected with the person of those we love. It is with the -corporeal frame that our senses have been familiar: it is that on which -we have gazed with rapture: it is that which has so often been the -medium of conveying to our hearts the thrill of extacy. We cannot -separate the idea of the peculiarities and actions of a friend from the -idea of his person. It is for this reason that “every thing which has -been associated with him acquires a value from that consideration; his -ring, his watch, his books, and his habitation. The value of these as -having been his is not merely fictitious; they have an empire over my -mind; they can make me happy or unhappy; they can torture and they can -tranquillize; they can purify my sentiments and make me similar to the -man I love; they possess the virtue which the Indian is said to -attribute to the spoils of him he kills, and inspire me with the powers, -the feelings, and the heart of their preceding master.” It is nothing, -the survivor may justly say, to tell me, when disease has completed its -work, and death has seized its prey, that that body, with which are -connected so many delightful associations, is a senseless mass of -matter: that it is no longer my friend, that the spirit which animated -it and rendered it lovely to my sight and dear to my affections, is -gone. I know that it is gone. I know that I never more shall see the -light of intelligence brighten that countenance, nor benevolence beam in -that eye, nor the voice of affection sound from those lips: that which I -loved, and which loved me, is not here: but here are still the features -of my friend: this is his form, and the very particles of matter which -compose this dull mass, a few hours ago were a real part of him, and I -cannot separate them, in my imagination, from him. And I approach them -with the profounder reverence; I gaze upon them with the deeper -affection because they are all that remain to me. I would give all that -I possess to purchase the art of preserving the wholesome character and -rosy hue of this form that it might be my companion still: but this is -impossible: I cannot detain it from the tomb: but when I have “cast a -heap of mould upon the person of my friend and taken the cold earth for -its keeper,” I visit the spot in which it is deposited with awe: it is -sacred to my imagination: it is dear to my heart. There is a real and -deep foundation for these feelings in human nature: they arise -spontaneously in the bosom of man, and we see their expression and their -power in the customs of all nations, savage as well as civilized, and in -the conduct of all men, the most ignorant and uncultivated no less than -the most intelligent and refined. It has been the policy of society to -foster these sentiments. It has been conceived that the sanctity which -attaches to the dead, is reflected back in a profounder feeling of -respect for the living; that the solemnity with which death is regarded -elevates, in the general estimation, the value of life; and that he who -cannot approach the mortal remains of a fellow creature without an -emotion of awe, must regard with horror every thing which places in -danger the life of a human being. Religion has contributed indirectly, -but powerfully, to the strength and perpetuity of these impressions; and -superstition has availed herself of them to play her antics and to -accomplish her base and malignant purposes. It is not the eradication of -these feelings that can be desired, but their control: it is not the -extinction of these natural and useful emotions that is pleaded for, but -that they should give way to higher considerations when these exist. -Veneration for the dead is connected with the noblest and sweetest -sympathies of our nature: but the promotion of the happiness of the -living is a duty from which we can never be exonerated. - -In ancient times the voice of reason could not be heard. Superstition, -and customs founded on superstition, excited an influence which was -neither to be resisted nor evaded. Dissection was then regarded with -horror. In the warm countries of the East the pursuit must have been -highly offensive and even dangerous, and it was absolutely incompatible -with the notions and ceremonies universally prevalent in those days. The -Jewish tenet of pollution must have formed an insuperable obstacle to -the cultivation of anatomy amongst that people. By the Egyptians every -one who cut open a dead body was regarded with inexpressible horror. The -Grecian philosophers so far overcame the prejudice as occasionally to -engage in the pursuit, and the first dissection on record was one made -by Democritus of Abdera, the friend of Hippocrates, in order to discover -the course of the bile. The Romans contributed nothing to the progress -of the art: they were content with propitiating the Deities who presided -over health and disease. They erected on the Palatine Mount a temple to -the goddess Febris, whom they worshipped from a dread of her power. They -also sacrificed to the goddess Ossipaga, who, it seems, presided over -the growth of the bones, and to another styled Carna, who took care of -the viscera, and to whom they offered bean-broth, and bacon, because -these were the most nutritious articles of diet. The Arabians adopted -the Jewish notion of pollution, and were thus prohibited by the tenets -of their religion from practising dissection. Abdollaliph, who -flourished about the year 1200, a man of learning and a teacher of -anatomy, never saw and never thought of a human dissection. In order to -examine and demonstrate the bones, he took his students to burying -grounds and earnestly recommended them, instead of reading books, to -adopt that method of study: yet he seems to have had no conception that -the dissection of a recent subject might be a still better method of -learning. Christians were equally hostile to dissection. Pope Boniface -the 8th issued a bull prohibiting even the maceration and preparation of -skeletons. The priests were the only physicians, and so greatly did they -abuse the office they assumed, that the evil at length became too -intolerable to be borne. The church itself was obliged to prohibit the -priesthood from interfering with the practice of medicine. All monks and -canons who applied themselves to physic, were threatened with severe -penalties, and all bishops, abbots, and priors who connived at their -misconduct were ordered to be suspended from their ecclesiastical -functions. But it was not till three hundred years after this -interdiction, that, by a special bull which permitted physicians to -marry, their complete separation from the clergy was effected. - -In the 14th century, Mundinus, professor at Bologna, astonished the -world by the public dissection of two human bodies. In the 15th century, -Leonardo da Vinci contributed essentially to the progress of the art, by -the introduction of anatomical plates which were admirably executed. In -the 16th century, the Emperor, Charles the 5th, ordered a consultation -to be held by the divines of Salamanca, to determine whether it was -lawful, in point of conscience, to dissect a dead body in order to learn -its structure. In the 17th century, Cortesius, professor of anatomy at -Bologna, and afterwards professor of medicine at Messina, had long begun -a treatise on practical anatomy which he had an earnest desire to -finish, but so great was the difficulty of prosecuting the study even -in Italy, that in 24 years he could only twice procure an opportunity -of dissecting a human body, and even then with difficulty and in a -hurry; whereas, he had expected to have done so, he says, once every -year, according to the custom of the famous academies of Italy. In -Muscovy, until very lately, both anatomy and the use of skeletons were -positively forbidden; the first as inhuman, and the latter as -subservient to witchcraft. Even the illustrious Luther was so biassed by -the prejudices of his age, that he ascribed the majority of diseases to -the arts of the devil, and found great fault with physicians when they -attempted to account for them by natural causes. England acquired the -bad fame of being the country of witches, and opposed almost insuperable -obstacles to the cultivation of anatomy. Even at present the prejudices -of the people on this subject are violent and deeply-rooted. The measure -of that violence may be estimated by the degree of abhorrence with which -they regard those persons who are employed to procure the subjects -necessary for dissection. In this country there is no other method of -obtaining subjects but that of exhumation: aversion to this employment -may be pardoned: dislike to the persons who engage in it is natural, but -to regard them with detestation, to exult in their punishment, to -determine for themselves its nature and measure, and to endeavour to -assume the power of inflicting it with their own hands, is absurd. -Magistrates have too often fostered the prejudices of the people, and -afforded them the means of executing their vengeance on the objects of -their aversion. The press, with a few honourable exceptions, has -uniformly allied itself with the ignorance and violence of the vulgar, -and has done every thing in its power to inflame the passions which it -was its duty to endeavour to soothe. It is notorious that the winter -before last there was scarcely a week in which many of the papers did -not contain the most exaggerated and disgusting statements: the appetite -which could be gratified with such representations was sufficiently -degraded: but still more base was the servility which could pander to -it. - -As one among many of the cases which illustrate this bad feeling, we may -refer to that of Samuel Clark who was indicted at the Essex Quarter -Sessions, in January, 1824, for feloniously stealing at Little Leighs, -on the 26th of December, a woman’s shift, a bed-gown, a night-cap, and a -pair of cotton stockings, the property of James Chinnery. It appeared in -evidence, that a young woman the wife of a labouring man named James -Chinnery, had been buried in Little Leighs Church-yard, on Sunday the -21st of December. Previous to her death she expressed a wish to be -interred in a night-cap, shift, bed-gown and cotton stockings, and her -request had been complied with. The body was discovered on the morning -of the 26th, in a ditch near the church-yard. A few rods from this spot -was found a horse yoked to a chaise cart and tied to a tree. It appeared -that “the box under the chaise cart was calculated to hold a couple of -human bodies, when rolled up; and on examining it, a most offensive -odour proceeded from it, as if it had been recently used in the -prisoner’s _unhallowed_ occupation.” The prisoner owned this horse and -cart, and this is the whole of the evidence, at least, as stated in the -report of the trial, which implicated him in the robbery of the grave. -Under these circumstances, the counsel for the prisoner submitted to the -Court that there was no case to go to the jury on three grounds:--first, -that there was no proof of any asportation of the articles alleged to -have been stolen: secondly, that supposing the asportavit made out, the -prisoner could not be convicted of this offence, unless it was manifest -that he had a felonious intention of taking the clothes and converting -them to his own use; and thirdly, that, at all events, there was no -evidence upon which the jury could safely be called upon to act, so as -to implicate him in the alleged offence. The counsel for the prosecution -in answer urged, first, that the finding of the body naked, after proof -that it had been interred in the clothes mentioned in the evidence, was -sufficient proof of asportation: and that even stripping the body -without removing the clothes out of the grave, was, in law, enough to -support the indictment: secondly, that although the primary intention of -the prisoner might be, to steal the body only, yet, if the clothes were -taken, the law would construe them to have been feloniously taken: that -it might as well be said that although a man’s intention might be to -steal a valuable jewel, yet it was no offence to take the casket in -which it was contained: and thirdly, that whether the defendant was the -party to whom guilt was imputed, was a question solely for the -consideration of the jury. On the prisoner’s counsel insisting that his -objections had not been answered, the Chairman overruled the two first -objections, and then summed up the evidence, on which the jury, after -deliberating a few minutes, found the prisoner _Guilty_. The verdict, it -is recorded, _was received by the auditory with a general expression of -pleasure_. The Court after animadverting in strong terms on the -_abominable_ offence of which the prisoner had been found guilty, said -they were determined that he should not have an opportunity of pursuing -his _odious_ trade in this country, at least for some years, and -_therefore_ sentenced him to be transported for seven years. The account -of this case is taken from the report of the trial contained in the -Globe and Traveller newspaper of Jan. 20, 1824; a paper honorably -distinguished for its endeavours to enlighten the public mind on this -subject, not to foster its prejudices. - -In this case there was no sufficient evidence to convict the prisoner of -the alleged offence: even if that evidence had been perfectly -satisfactory, the punishment inflicted was unjust: the circumstance -essential to constitute the felony did not exist: the Chairman, with an -ignorant and vulgar mind, stretched the law to gratify ignorant and -vulgar prejudice: he relied upon the public feeling for protection in -the illegal exertion of his power: he administered the law badly: he -endeavoured to justify his conduct by loading the prisoner with odious -epithets, and he did not miscalculate the feeling of his auditory: they -witnessed the transaction “with a general feeling of pleasure.” This -case exhibits but too faithfully, the spirit often displayed both by the -magistracy and the people. - -Half a century ago there was in Scotland no difficulty in obtaining the -subjects which were necessary to supply the schools of anatomy. The -consequence was, that medicine and surgery suddenly assumed new -life--started from the torpor in which they had been spell-bound--and -made an immediate, and rapid, and brilliant progress. The new seminaries -constantly sent into the world men of the most splendid abilities, at -once demonstrating the excellence of the schools in which they were -educated, and rendering them illustrious. Pupils flocked to them from -all quarters of the globe, and they essentially contributed to that -advancement of science which the present age has witnessed. In the 19th -century the good people of Scotland, that intelligent, that cool and -calculating, that most reasonable and thinking people, have thought -proper to return to the worst feeling and the worst conduct of the -darkest periods of antiquity. There is at present no offence whatever -which seems to have such power to heat and to exalt into a kind of -torrent the blood which usually flows so calmly and sluggishly in the -veins of a Scotchman. The people of 1823 (to compare great things with -small) emulate the spirit of those of their forefathers who “_were out -in the forty-five_;” the object, to be sure, is somewhat different, but -it is amusing to see the intensity and seriousness of the excitement. -About twelve months ago an honest farmer of the name of Scott, who -resides at Linlithgow, apprehended a poor wight who was pursuing his -vocation, we presume, in the church-yard of that place; and this service -appeared so meritorious to the people in his neighbourhood, that they -absolutely presented him with a piece of plate. In the winter sessions -of 1822-3, a body was discovered on its way to the lecture-room of an -anatomist in Glasgow, and, in spite of the exertions of the police, -aided by those of the military, this gentleman’s premises and their -contents, which were valuable, were entirely destroyed by the mob. For -some time after this achievement, it was necessary to station a military -guard at the houses of all the medical professors in that city. In the -spring circuit of the justiciary court last year at Stirling, while the -judges were proceeding to the court, the procession was assaulted with -missiles; several persons were injured, and it was necessary to call in -the protection of a military force. The object of the mob was, to -inflict summary punishment on a man who was about to be tried for the -exhumation of a body. We happen to know that the most disgraceful -proceedings were some time ago instituted in that town against a young -gentleman of respectable family and connections, who was in fact -expatriated, and whose prospects in life were entirely changed, if not -ruined, because he had too much honour to implicate his instructors in a -transaction which would have put them to inconvenience, and in which -they had engaged from a desire faithfully to discharge their duty to -their pupils. Within the last five years three men were lodged in the -county gaol at Haddington, charged with a trespass in the church-yard of -that town. So enraged was the mob against them, that an attempt was made -to force the gaol in order to get at them. On their way to the court the -men were again attacked, forced from the carriage, and severely maimed. -After examination they were admitted to bail; but, when set at liberty, -they were assailed with more violence than ever, and were nearly killed. -On the 29th of June, 1823, being Sunday, a most extraordinary outrage -was perpetrated in the streets of Edinburgh. A coach containing an empty -coffin and two men, was observed proceeding along the south bridge. The -people suspecting that it was intended to convey a body taken from some -church-yard, seized the coach. It was with difficulty that the police -protected the men from the assaults of the populace: the coach they had -no power to preserve. The horses were taken from it, and together with -the coffin, after having been trundled a mile and a half through the -streets of the city, it was deliberately projected over the steep side -of the mound, and smashed into a thousand pieces. The people following -it to the bottom, kindled a fire with its fragments, and surrounded it -like the savages in Robinson Crusoe, till it was entirely consumed. In -this case there was no foundation for their suspicions. The coffin was -intended to have conveyed to his house in Edinburgh the body of a -physician who that morning had died in a cottage in the neighbourhood. A -similar assault was some time ago made on two American gentlemen, who -went to visit the Abbey of Linlithgow after nightfall. The churchyards -of the “gude Scots” are now strictly guarded by men and dogs; -watch-towers are erected within the grounds, and _mort-safes_ as they -are called, that is to say, strong iron frames are deposited in the -ground over the graves. These people sometimes declare that they will -put an end to anatomy, and certainly they are succeeding in the -accomplishment of this menace as rapidly as they can well desire. The -average number of medical students in Edinburgh is 700 each session. For -several years past the difficulty of procuring subjects in that place -has been so great, that out of all that number, not more than 150 or 200 -have ever attempted to dissect; and even these have latterly been so -opposed in their endeavours to prosecute their studies that many of them -have left the place in disgust. We have been informed by a friend, that -he alone was personally acquainted with twenty individuals who retired -from it at the beginning of last session, and who went to pursue their -studies at Dublin, and we know that vast numbers followed their example -at the end of the winter course. The medical school at Edinburgh, in -fact, is now subsisting entirely on its past reputation; in the course -of a few years it will certainly be at an end, unless the system be -changed. Let those who have the prosperity of the university at heart, -and who have the power to protect it, consider this before it be too -late: they may be assured it is no idle prediction; for we give them -notice that it is at this moment the universal opinion and the current -language of every well-informed medical man in England. - -An excellent system of anatomical plates, which has been well received -by the profession, has lately been published by Mr. Lizars, a lecturer -on anatomy and physiology, in Edinburgh. This gentleman states that he -has been induced to undertake the work, in order to obviate the most -fatal consequences to the public; as far, at least, as a reference to -art, instead of nature is capable of obviating those consequences. He -affirms, that the difficulty of obtaining instruction from nature has -risen to such a pitch, owing to the extraordinary severity exercised by -the legal authorities of the kingdom against persons employed in -procuring subjects for dissection, as to threaten the ultimate -destruction of medical and anatomical science. In his preface to the -second part of his work, he apologizes to his readers for dividing one -portion of it from another, with which it ought to have been connected; -but states that he has been compelled to do so from the prejudices of -the place, which prevented him for upwards of five months, from -procuring a subject from which he might make his drawings. “In place of -living,” he says, “in a civilized and enlightened period, we appear as -if we had been thrown back some centuries into the dark ages of -ignorance, bigotry, and superstition. Prejudices, worthy only of the -multitude, have been conjured up and appealed to, in order to call forth -popular indignation against those whose business it is to exhibit -demonstratively the structure of the human body, and the functions of -its different organs. The public journals, from a vicious propensity to -pander to the vulgar appetite for excitement, have raked up and -industriously circulated stories of the exhumation of dead bodies, -tending to exasperate and inflame the passions of the mob; and persons, -who, by their own showing, are friendly to the interests of science, -have, in the excess of their zeal that bodies should remain undisturbed -in their progress to decomposition, laboured to destroy in this country, -that art, whose province it is, to free living bodies from the -consequences inseparable from accident and disease. And, which is worst -of all, the prejudices of the multitude have been confirmed and rendered -inveterate by the proceedings in our courts of justice, which have -visited with the punishment due only to felons, the unhappy persons -necessarily employed in the present state of the law, in procuring -subjects for the dissecting-room.” - -He then goes on to state that, until anatomy be publicly sanctioned in -Edinburgh, the school of medicine there can never flourish; that, upon -the present system, young men obtain a degree or a diploma after a year -or two of grinding, that is, of learning by rote the answers to the -questions which the examiners are in the habit of putting to the -candidates; that ignorant of the very elements of their profession -numbers of persons thus educated annually go to the East and West -Indies, and to the army and navy, where they have the charge of hundreds -of their suffering fellow creatures, to whom they are in fact the -instruments of cruelty and murder. In the preface to the 4th Part, he -adds, that when Part II. was published, in the early part of the -session, he took occasion to express his sorrow for the degraded state -of his profession, and the threatened ruin of the Medical School of his -native place, owing to the scarcity of subjects: that, for doing this, -he has incurred considerable censure; that he regrets that he has yet -found no reason to alter his opinion, for the winter session is now -near its conclusion, and, he candidly declares, that such has been the -scarcity of material, that _no teacher of anatomy or surgery has been -able either to follow the regular plan of his course, or to do his duty -to his pupils_; the consequence of which has been, that many of the -students have left the school in disgust, and gone either to Dublin or -Paris; while a still greater number, deprived of the means of -dissecting, have contented themselves with lectures or theories, and -with grinding; and entered on the practice of their profession ignorant -of its fundamental principles. - -Much of this opposition on the part of the people arises from the -present mode of procuring subjects. Fortunately, there is in Great -Britain no custom, no superstition, no law, and we may add, no prejudice -against anatomy itself. There is even a general conviction of its -necessity; there may be a feeling that it is a repulsive employment, but -it is commonly acknowledged that it must not be neglected. The -opposition which is made, is made not against anatomy, but against the -practice of exhumation: and this is a practice which ought to be -opposed. It is in the highest degree revolting; it would be disgraceful -to a horde of savages; every feeling of the human heart rises up against -it: so long as no other means of procuring bodies for dissection are -provided, it must be tolerated; but, in itself, it is alike odious to -the ignorant and the enlightened, to the most uncultivated and the most -refined. - -But the capital objection to this practice is, that it necessarily -creates a crime, and educates a race of criminals. Exhumation is -forbidden by the law. It is, indeed, prohibited by no statute, either in -England or in Scotland: in both it is an offence punishable at common -law. There is a statute of James the First, which makes it felony to -steal a dead body for the purpose of witchcraft; there is none against -taking a body for the purpose of dissection. In the case of the King -against Lynn (1788), the Court decided that the body being taken for the -latter purpose, did not make it less an indictable offence; and that it -is without doubt cognizable in a criminal court, because it is an act -“highly indecent; at the bare idea of which nature revolts.” It is -punishable, therefore, by fine or imprisonment, or both: in Scotland it -is also punishable by whipping, and even by transportation. - -We expected better things of America. We cannot express our astonishment -and indignation, when we found that the state of New York has actually -made it felony to remove a dead body from the place of sepulture for the -purpose of dissection, without providing in any other mode for the -schools of anatomy. This is worse than any thing that exists in any -other part of the world. If these pages should meet the eye of any of -our American brethren, we intreat them to read with attention, the facts -which have been stated in the former part of this pamphlet, and to -consider with seriousness the mischief they are doing. It will not be -believed in England, that such scenes can have been witnessed in -America, as were actually exhibited there scarcely a month ago. To -satisfy our readers, however, that we do not misrepresent the state of -things in that country, we transcribe the following accounts from _The -New York Evening Post_, of _May_ 20th:--“At the late Court of Sessions, -Solomon Parmeli was indicted for a misdemeanor, in entering Potter’s -Field, and removing the covers of two coffins deposited in a pit, and -covered partly with earth. _The statute of this state making it a -felony, to dig up or remove a dead human body with intent to dissect -it_, did not embrace this case; because the prisoner had not dug up or -removed the body. Mr. Schureman, the present keeper of Potter’s Field, -suspected that some person had entered it for the purpose of removing -the dead; and, after sending for two watchmen, and calling his faithful -dog, he went to ascertain the fact. On arriving at the grave, he found -his suspicion confirmed; and requested the person concealed in the pit, -to come out and show himself: no answer being given, Mr. Schureman sent -his dog into the pit, and in the twinkling of an eye a tall stout fellow -made his appearance, and took to his heels across the field. The night -being dark, he might have effected his escape had it not been for the -sagacity and courage of the dog, who pursued him for some distance; but -at last came up with him, seized and held him fast until the arrival of -Mr. Schureman and the watchmen who secured him. The jury convicted the -prisoner, and the Court sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment in the -Penitentiary. _The young gentlemen attending the Medical School of this -city will take warning by this man’s fate. They may rest assured, that -the keeper of Potter’s Field will do his duty, and public justice will -he executed on any man, whatever may be his condition in life, who is -found violating the law, and the decency of christian burial!_” The same -paper gives the following account of a transaction, which took place at -Hartford, in Connecticut, May 17. “Yesterday morning, two ladies were -taking a walk in the South burying ground, when they discovered a -tape-string, and a piece of cloth, which upon examination was found to -be the piece that was laced upon Miss Jane Benton’s face, who came to -her death by drowning, and was buried a few days since. The ladies then -went to the grave, and found that it had been disturbed--that she was -taken out of her coffin, and a rope around her neck. The circumstance -has produced great excitement in the public mind; and every one is on -the alert to discover the perpetrators of this unfeeling, brutal act. -_The citizens turned out in a body yesterday, and interred the corpse -again._” - -These scenes are highly disgraceful, and disgraceful to all, though not -_alike_ to all, parties. We do not blame the Americans for abolishing -the practice of exhumation; but we blame them for stopping there. We -maintain, that it is both absurd and criminal, to make this practice -felony, without providing in some other method for the cultivation of -anatomy. - -In Great Britain, the law against the practice of exhumation is not -allowed to slumber. There may be other cases which have not come to our -knowledge; but we have ascertained that there have been 14 convictions -for England alone during the last year. The punishments inflicted have -been imprisonment for various periods, with fines of different sums. The -fines in general are heavy, considering the poverty of the offenders. -Several persons are, at this moment, suffering these penalties; among -others, there is now in the gaol of St. Albans, a man who was sentenced -for this offence to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of £.20. The -period of his confinement has expired some time; but he still remains in -prison, on account of his inability to pay the fine. Since the passing -of the new Vagrant Act, it has been the common practice to commit these -offenders to hard labour for various periods. Very lately, two men, -convicted of this offence, were sent to the Tread-Mill, in Cold Bath -Fields; one of whom died in one month after his commitment. It is an -error to suppose that these punishments operate to prevent exhumation; -their only effect is to raise the price of subjects: a little reflection -will show that they can have no other operation. At present, exhumation -is the only method by which subjects for dissection can be procured; but -subjects for this purpose must be procured; and be the difficulties what -they may, will be procured: diseases will occur, operations must be -performed, medical men must be educated, anatomy must be studied, -dissections must go on. Unless some other means for affording a supply -be adopted; whatever be the law or the popular feeling, neither -magistrates, nor judges, nor juries, will, or can put an entire stop to -the practice. It is one which, from the absolute necessity of the case, -must be allowed. What is the consequence? So long as the practice of -exhumation continues, a race of men must be trained up to violate the -law. These men must go out in company for the purpose of nightly -plunder, and plunder of the most odious kind, tending in a peculiar and -most alarming measure to brutify the mind, and to eradicate every -feeling and sentiment worthy of a man. This employment becomes a school -in which men are trained for the commission of the most daring and -inhuman crimes. Its operation is similar, but much worse than the -nightly banding to violate the game laws, because there is something in -the violation of the grave, which tends still more to degrade the -character and to harden the heart. This offence is connived at, nay, it -is rewarded; these men are absolutely paid to violate the law; and paid -by men of reputation and influence in society. The transition is but too -easy to the commission of other offences in the hope of similar -connivance, if not of similar reward. - -It is an odious thing that the teachers of anatomy should be brought -into contact with such men: that they should be obliged to employ them, -and that they should even be in their power; which they are to such a -degree, that they are obliged to bear with the wantonness of their -tyranny and insult. All the clamour against these men, all the -punishment inflicted on them, only operate to raise the premium on the -repetition of their offence. This premium the teachers of anatomy are -obliged to pay, which these men perfectly understand, who do not at all -dislike the opposition which is made to their vocation. It gives them no -unreasonable pretext for exorbitancy in their demands. In general they -are men of infamous character; some of them are thieves, others are the -companions and abettors of thieves. Almost all of them are extremely -destitute. When apprehended for the offence in question, the teachers of -anatomy are obliged to pay the expenses of the trial, and to support -their families while they are in prison; whence the idea of immunity is -associated, in these men’s minds, with the violation of the law, and -when they do happen to incur its penalties, they practically find that -they and their families are provided for, and this provision comes to -them in the shape of a reward for the commission of their offence. The -operation of such a system on the minds of the individuals themselves is -exceedingly pernicious, and is not a little dangerous to the community. - -Moreover, by the method of exhumation, the supply after all is scanty; -it is never adequate to the wants of the schools; it is of necessity -precarious, and it sometimes fails altogether for several months. But it -is of the utmost importance that it should be abundant, regular, and -cheap. The number of young men who come annually to London for the -purpose of studying medicine and surgery, may be about a thousand. Their -expenses are necessarily very considerable while in town; they have -already paid a large sum for their apprenticeship in the country; the -circumstances of country practitioners, in general, can but ill afford -protracted expenses for their sons in London; few of them stay a month -longer than the time prescribed by the College of Surgeons. But the -short period they spend in London is the only time they have for -acquiring the knowledge of their profession. If they mis-spend these -precious hours, or if the means of employing them properly be denied -them, they must necessarily remain ignorant for life. After they leave -London they have no means of dissecting. We have seen that it is by -dissecting alone, that they can make themselves acquainted even with the -principles of their art; that without it they cannot so much as avail -themselves of the opportunities of improvement, which experience itself -may offer, nor, without the highest temerity, perform a single -operation. We have seen that occasions suddenly occur, which require -the prompt performance of important and difficult operations; we have -seen that, unless such operations are performed immediately, and with -the utmost skill, life is inevitably lost. In many such cases there is -no time to send for other assistance. If a country practitioner (and -most of these young men go to the country) be not himself capable of -doing what is proper to be done, the death of the patient is certain. We -put it to the reader to imagine what the feelings of an ingenuous young -man must be, who is aware of what he ought to do, but who is conscious -that his knowledge is not sufficient to authorise him to attempt to -perform it, and who sees his patient die before him, when he knows that -he might be saved and that it would have been in his own power to save -him, had he been properly educated. We put it to the reader to conceive -what his own sensations would be, were an ignorant surgeon, with a -rashness more fatal than the criminal modesty of the former, to -undertake an important operation. Suppose it were a tumour, which turned -out to be an aneurism; suppose it were a hernia, in operating on which -the epigastric artery were divided, or the intestine itself wounded; -suppose it were his mother, his wife, his sister, his child, whom he -thus saw perish before his eyes, what would the reader then think of the -prejudice which withholds from the surgeon that information without -which the practice of his profession is murder? - -The study of anatomy is a severe and laborious study; the practice of -dissection is on many accounts highly repulsive: it is even not without -danger to life itself.[A] To men of clear understandings, to those -especially of a philosophical turn of mind, the pursuit is its own -reward; they are so fully satisfied that the more it is cultivated the -more satisfaction it will afford, that they need no stimulus to induce -them to undergo the drudgery. But this is by no means the case with -ordinary minds. The fatigue and disgust of the dissecting-room are -appalling to them, and they need the stimulus of necessity to urge them -to the task. The court of examiners of the College of Surgeons requires -from the candidates for surgical diplomas certificates that they have -gone through at least two courses of dissections; the examiners at -Apothecaries’-hall do not require such certificates. The consequence is, -that many young men content themselves with attending lectures, and with -passing their examinations at Apothecaries’-hall, and do not apply for a -diploma at the College of Surgeons. This single fact is sufficient to -demonstrate to the public that, instead of throwing obstacles in the way -of dissection, it is a duty which they owe to themselves to afford every -possible facility to its practice, and to hold out to every member of -the profession, the most powerful inducements to engage in it, by -rewarding with confidence those who cultivate anatomy, by making -excellence in anatomy indispensable to all offices in dispensaries and -hospitals, and by thus rendering it impossible for any one who is -ignorant of anatomy, to obtain rank in his profession. When a candidate -presents himself for a diploma in Denmark, in his first trial he is put -into a room with a subject, a case of instruments, and a memorandum, and -informed that he is to display the anatomy of the face and neck, or that -of the upper extremity or that of the lower extremity: that by the -anatomy is to be understood, the blood-vessels, nerves and muscles; and -that as soon as he has accomplished his task, the professors will attend -his summons to judge of his attainments. These professors are the true -examiners! - -We shall have entered into the discussion of this subject to little -purpose, if we have not produced in the minds of our readers a deep -conviction, that anatomy ought to form an essential part of medical -education; that anatomy cannot be studied without the practice of -dissection; that dissection cannot be practised without a supply of -subjects, and that the manner in which that supply is obtained in -England is detestable and ought immediately to be changed. - -The plan we would propose to substitute is the following:-- - -1. That the bodies of those persons who die in all infirmaries and -hospitals throughout the kingdom, _unclaimed by immediate relatives_, be -appropriated to the purpose of anatomy. - -2. That the bodies of those persons who die in all work-houses and -poor-houses be appropriated to the same purpose. - -3. That the bodies of those persons who die in all houses of correction, -in all prisons, and in the hulks, be thus appropriated. - -An objection may be anticipated to such an appropriation of the bodies -of those who die in infirmaries and hospitals. And it is admitted, that -in the present state of public feeling it would not be right thus to -appropriate the bodies of _all_ who die in those public charities. But -this is not proposed: what is proposed is to appropriate to this use the -bodies of those ONLY _who die unclaimed by immediate relatives_. No -reasonable objection can be urged to this measure thus guarded. No one -who has not inquired into the subject can have any conception of the -number of persons who die in the public hospitals in London, unvisited -by friends during life, unclaimed by them after death. Surely to devote -to this use the bodies of those who die under such circumstances can -inflict no wound on any private individual--can violate no public right. -Still there is one objection to the measure which is specious but not -solid. It is urged that it might be the means of deterring this class of -persons from entering the hospitals. The answer to this objection is -complete, because it is an answer derived from experience. The measure -has been actually adopted, and found in practice to be unattended with -this result: it was tried in Edinburgh and the hospital was as full as -it is at present: it is universally acted on in France, and the -hospitals are always crowded. - -It has been stated that this plan has been tried in Edinburgh, and that -experience has proved its efficacy. It was, in fact, adopted in that -city with perfect success more than a century ago. In the Council -Register for 1694, it is recorded that all unclaimed dead bodies in the -charitable institutions or in the streets, were given for dissection to -the College of Surgeons, to one or two of its individual members, and to -the professor of anatomy. This regulation, at that period, excited no -opposition on the part of the people, but effectually answered the -desired object. All the medical schools on the continent are supplied -with subjects, by public authority, in a similar manner. The following -account of the mode in which those of Paris in particular are supplied, -has been obtained from the gentleman who is at the head of the -anatomical department in that city. It is stated; 1. That the faculty of -medicine at Paris is authorized to take from the civil hospitals, from -the prisons, and from dépôts of mendicity, the bodies which are -necessary for teaching anatomy. 2. That a gratuity of eight-pence is -given to the attendants in the hospitals for each body. 3. That upon the -foundation by the National Convention, of schools of health, the -statutes of their foundation declare, that the subjects necessary for -the schools of anatomy shall be taken from the hospitals, and that since -this period, the council of hospitals, and the prefect of police, have -always permitted the practice. 4. That M. Breschet, chief of the -anatomical department of the faculty of Paris, sends a carriage daily to -the different hospitals, which brings back the necessary number of -bodies: that this number has sometimes amounted to 2,000 per annum, for -the faculty only, without reckoning those used in L’Hôpital de la Pitié, -but that since the general attention which has recently been bestowed -upon pathologic anatomy, numbers of bodies are opened in the civil and -military hospitals, and that the faculty seldom obtain more than 1,000 -or 1,200. 5. That, besides the dissections by the faculty of medicine, -and those pursued in L’Hôpital de la Pitié, theatres of anatomy are -opened in all the great hospitals, for the pupils of those -establishments: that in these institutions anatomy is carefully taught, -and that pupils have all the facilities for dissection that can be -desired. 6. That the price of a body varies from four shillings to eight -shillings and sixpence. 7. That after dissection, the bodies are wrapt -in cloths, and carried to the neighbouring cemetery, where they are -received for ten-pence. 8. That the practice of exhumation is abolished: -that there are insurmountable obstacles to the return to that system, -and that bodies are never taken from burial grounds, without an order -for exhumation, which is given only when the tribunals require it for -the purpose of medico-legal investigations. 9. That though the people -have an aversion to the operations of dissection, yet they never make -any opposition to them, provided respect be paid to the laws of decency -and salubrity, on account of the deep conviction that prevails of their -utility. 10. That the relatives of the deceased seldom or never oppose -the opening of any body, if the physicians desire it. That all the -medical students in France, with scarcely any exception, dissect, and -that that physician or surgeon who is not acquainted with anatomy, is -universally regarded as the most ignorant of men. - -To the other parts of the plan proposed above for supplying the -anatomical schools in Great Britain, there appears to be no objections -whatever. No one can object to such a disposal of the bodies of those -who die in prisons; no one can reasonably object to such a disposal of -the bodies of those who die in poor-houses. These persons are pensioners -upon the public bounty: they owe the public a debt: they have been -supported by the public during life; if, therefore, after death they -can be made useful to the public, it is a prejudice, not a reason--it is -an act of injustice, not the observance of a duty, which would prevent -them from becoming so. It is true that many of these persons are honest -and respectable; and have been reduced to indigence by misfortune: were -they all so it would not alter the state of the argument. Some -concession and co-operation on the part of the public, for this great -public object, is indispensable, without which nothing can be done: but -if any concession be made, it can be made with respect to this class of -persons better than any other, because it can be made with less -violation of public feeling. Nor is any indignity either intended or -offered to these persons. They are appropriated to this service not -because they are poor, but because they are friendless: because, that -is, no persons survive them who take such an interest in their fate as -to be rendered unhappy by this disposal of their remains. That they are -without friends is no good reason why their memory should be treated -with indignity; but it is a good reason, it is the best possible reason -why they should be selected for this public service. Poverty, it is -true, is a misfortune: poverty, it is true, has terror and pain enough -in itself: no legislature ought by any act to increase its wretchedness; -but the measure here proposed is pregnant with good to the poor, and -would tend more than can be estimated to lessen the misery of their -condition. For it would give knowledge to the lowest practitioners of -the medical art; that is, to the persons who are at present lamentably -deficient, and into whose hands the great bulk of the poor fall. And, -after all, the true question is, whether the surgeon shall be allowed to -gain knowledge by operating on the bodies of the dead, or driven to -obtain it by practising on the bodies of the living. If the dead bodies -of the poor are not appropriated to this use, their living bodies must -be--and will be. The rich will always have it in their power to select, -for the performance of an operation, the surgeon who has signalized -himself by success: but that surgeon, if he have not obtained the -dexterity which ensures success, by dissecting and operating on the -dead, must have acquired it by making experiments on the living bodies -of the poor. There is no other means by which he can possibly have -gained the necessary information. Every such surgeon who has attained -deserved eminence, must have risen to it through the suffering which he -has inflicted, and the death which he has brought upon hundreds of the -poor. What would be the immediate and constant effect of an abolition of -the practice of dissecting the dead? It would be to convert poor-houses -and public hospitals into so many schools where the surgeons, by -practising on the living bodies of the poor, would learn to operate on -those of the rich with safety and dexterity. Thus the poor would be -tortured, and many of them would be put to death in order that the rich -might be saved from pain and danger. This would be the certain and -inevitable result--this would indeed be to treat this class of the -people with real indignity and horrible injustice, and proves how -possible it is to show an apparent consideration for the poor, and yet -practically to abuse them in the most cruel manner. - -The plan now proposed for remedying the evils which have been stated -would accomplish the object easily and completely: it would inflict no -injury on any private individual: it would do no violence to the public -feeling: it would render the dread of anatomy, as far as that dread were -really operative, directly beneficial to the community: it would -terminate at once the evils of the present system: it would put an end -to the education of daring and desperate violators of the law: it would -tranquillize the public mind: the dead would rest undisturbed: the -sepulchre would be sacred, and all the horrors which the imagination -connects with its violation would cease for ever. - -We submit these observations to the calm and serious consideration of -our countrymen. We address them especially to the members of our -legislature. Upon the attention of the latter we would particularly urge -this further consideration, the importance of which they well know how -to estimate. In consequence of the difficulty of procuring subjects in -England, every medical student in Great Britain who can possibly afford -the time now goes to Paris to perfect himself in anatomy. Accordingly -the number of English students in Paris is already immense: that number -increases rapidly every year: it increases by the desertion of the -schools in Edinburgh and London. The consequence is obvious, and will be -surely and deeply felt in a few years. Anatomy will be neglected in -England, and for this indispensable branch of knowledge England will -become entirely dependent on France. There cannot be a doubt that there -is good sense enough among the people of England to submit to whatever -regulations may be necessary to prevent evils so serious and so fatal, -provided such regulations are framed in a proper spirit, and observed -with a due regard to decorum, and it is certain that those persons who -co-operate to establish these regulations will ultimately receive, as -they will deserve, the gratitude of their country. - - - FINIS. - - - T. C. Hansard, Pater-noster-row Press. - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[A] A winter never passes without proving fatal to several students who -die from injuries received in dissection. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BODY-SNATCHING *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Body-snatching</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Anonymous</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October 16, 2022 [eBook #69167]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BODY-SNATCHING ***</div> -<hr class="full"> - -<p class="c"><img src="images/cover.jpg" -height="550" -alt=""></p> - -<div class="blk"> -<h1>BODY-SNATCHING.</h1> - -<p class="c"><small>Published by</small><br> -BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY,<br> - -LONDON.<br> -———<br> -1824.</p> -</div> - -<p class="c"><span class="ov">T. C. HANSARD,</span><br> -<span class="und">Pater-noster-row Press.</span> -</p> - -<h2><a id="ADVERTISEMENT"></a>ADVERTISEMENT.</h2> - -<p>THE following pages are reprinted, with some modification, from the -third Number of the Westminster Review. They treat of a subject on which -it is of great importance that the public should be well informed, and -it is in order to facilitate the circulation of the knowledge which they -communicate respecting it, that the proprietors of the above-mentioned -work have liberally consented to the re-publication of this article in -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_1">{1}</a></span>the form of a pamphlet.</p> - -<h2><a id="BODY-SNATCHING"></a>BODY-SNATCHING.</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">E</span>VERY one desires to live as long as he can. Every one values health -“above all gold and treasure.” Every one knows that, as far as his own -individual good is concerned, protracted life and a frame of body sound -and strong, free from the thousand pains which flesh is heir to, are -unspeakably more important than all other objects, because life and -health must be secured before any possible result of any possible -circumstance can be of consequence to him. In the improvement of the art -which has for its object the preservation of health and life, every -individual is, therefore, deeply interested. An enlightened physician -and a skilful surgeon, are in the daily habit of administering to their -fellow men more real and unquestionable good, than is communicated, or -communicable by any other class of human beings to another. Ignorant -physicians and surgeons are the most deadly enemies of the community: -the plague itself is not so destructive: its ravages are at distant -intervals, and are accompanied with open and alarming notice of its -purpose and power; theirs are constant, silent, secret; and it is while -they are looked up to as saviours, with the confidence of hope, that -they give speed to the progress of disease and certainty to the stroke -of death.</p> - -<p>It is deeply to be lamented that the community, in general, are so -entirely ignorant of all that relates to the art and the science of -<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_2">{2}</a></span>medicine. An explanation of the functions of the animal economy; of -their most common and important deviations from a healthy state; of the -remedies best adapted to restore them to a sound condition, and of the -mode in which they operate, as far as that is known, ought to form a -part of every course of liberal education. The profound ignorance of the -people on all these subjects is attended with many disadvantages to -themselves, and operates unfavourably on the medical character. In -consequence of this want of information, persons neither know what are -the attainments of the man in whose hands they place their life, nor -what they ought to be; they can neither form an opinion of the course of -education which it is incumbent upon him to follow, nor judge of the -success with which he has availed himself of the means of knowledge -which have been afforded him. There is one branch of medical education -in particular, the foundation, in fact, on which the whole -superstructure must be raised, the necessity of which is not commonly -understood, but which requires only to be stated to be perceived. -Perhaps it is impossible to name any one subject which it is of more -importance that the community should understand. It is one in which -every man’s life is deeply implicated: it is one on which every man’s -ignorance or information will have some influence. We shall therefore, -show the kind of knowledge which it is indispensable that the physician -and the surgeon should possess: we shall illustrate, by a reference to -particular cases, the reason why knowledge of this kind cannot be -dispensed with: and we shall explain, by a statement of facts, the -nature and extent of the obstacles which at present oppose the -acquisition of this knowledge. We repeat, there is no subject in which -every reader can be so immediately and deeply interested, and we trust -that he will give us his calm and unprejudiced attention.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page_3">{3}</a></span></p><p>The basis of all medical and surgical knowledge is anatomy. Not a -single step can be made either in medicine or surgery, considered either -as an art or a science, without it. This should seem self-evident, and -to need neither proof nor illustration: nevertheless as it is useful -occasionally to contemplate the evidence of important truth, we shall -show why it is that there can be no rational medicine, and no safe -surgery, without a thorough knowledge of anatomy.</p> - -<p>Disease, which it is the object of these arts to prevent and to cure, is -denoted by disordered function: disordered function cannot be understood -without a knowledge of healthy function; healthy function cannot be -understood without a knowledge of structure; structure cannot be -understood unless it be examined.</p> - -<p>The organs on which all the important functions of the human body depend -are concealed from the view. There is no possibility of ascertaining -their situation and connections, much less their nature and operation, -without inspecting the interior of this curious and complicated machine. -The results of the mechanism are visible; the mechanism itself is -concealed, and must be investigated to be perceived. The operations of -nature are seldom entirely hidden from the human eye; still less are -they obtruded upon it, but over the most curious and wonderful -operations of the animal economy so thick a veil is drawn, that they -never could have been perceived without the most patient and minute -research. The circulation of the blood, for example, never could have -been discovered without dissection. Notwithstanding the partial -knowledge of anatomy which must have been acquired by the accidents to -which the human body is exposed, by attention to wounded men, by the -observance of bodies killed by violence; by the huntsman in using his -prey; by the priest in immolating his victims; by the augur in pursuing -his divinations; by the slaughter of animals; by the dissection of -brutes; and even occasionally by the dissection of the human<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_4">{4}</a></span> body, -century after century passed away, without a suspicion having been -excited of the real functions of the two great systems of vessels, -arteries and veins. It was not until the beginning of the 17th century, -when anatomy was ardently cultivated, and had made considerable -progress, that the valves of the veins and of the heart were discovered, -and subsequently that the great Harvey, the pupil of the anatomist who -discovered the latter, by inspecting the structure of these valves; by -contemplating their disposition; by reasoning upon their use, was led to -suspect the course of the blood, and afterwards to demonstrate it. -Several systems of vessels in which the most important functions of -animal life are carried on—the absorbent system, for example, and even -that portion of it which receives the food after it is digested, and -which conveys it into the blood, are invisible to the naked eye, except -under peculiar circumstances: whence it must be evident, not only that -the interior of the human body must be laid open, in order that its -organs may be seen; but that these organs must be minutely and patiently -dissected, in order that their structure may be understood.</p> - -<p>The most important diseases have their seat in the organs of the body; -an accurate acquaintance with their situation is, therefore, absolutely -necessary, in order to ascertain the seats of disease; but for the -reasons already assigned, their situation cannot be learnt, without the -study of anatomy. In several regions, organs the most different in -structure and function are placed close to each other. In what is termed -the epigastric region, for example, are situated the stomach, the liver, -the gall bladder, the first portion of the small intestine (the -duodenum) and a portion of the large intestine (the colon); each of -these organs is essentially different in structure and in use, and is -liable to distinct diseases. Diseases the most diversified, therefore -requiring the most opposite treatment, may exist in the same region of -the body;<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_5">{5}</a></span> the discrimination of which is absolutely impossible, without -that knowledge which the study of anatomy alone can impart.</p> - -<p>The seat of pain is often at a great distance from that of the affected -organ. In disease of the liver, pain is generally felt at the top of the -right shoulder. The right phrenic nerve sends a branch to the liver: the -third cervical nerve, from which the phrenic arises, distributes -numerous branches to the neighbourhood of the shoulder: thus is -established a nervous communication between the shoulder and the liver. -This is a fact which nothing but anatomy could teach, and affords the -explanation of a symptom which nothing but anatomy could give. The -knowledge of it would infallibly correct a mistake into which a person -who is ignorant of it would be sure to fall: in fact, persons ignorant -of it do constantly commit the error. We have known several instances in -which organic disease of the liver has been considered, and treated as -rheumatism of the shoulder. In each of these cases, disease in a most -important organ might have been allowed to steal on insidiously until it -became incurable: while a person, acquainted with anatomy, would have -detected it at once, and cured it without difficulty. Many cases have -occurred of persons who have been supposed to labour under disease of -the liver, and who have been treated accordingly: on examination after -death, the liver has been found perfectly healthy, but there has been -discovered extensive disease of the brain. Disease of the liver is often -mistaken for disease of the lungs: on the other hand, the lungs have -been found full of ulcers, when they were supposed to have been -perfectly sound, and when every symptom was referred to disease of the -liver. Persons are constantly attacked with convulsions—children -especially; convulsions are spasms: spasms, of course, are to be treated -by antispasmodics. This is the notion amongst people ignorant of -medicine: it is the notion<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_6">{6}</a></span> amongst old medical men: it is the notion -amongst half-educated young ones. All this time these convulsions are -merely a symptom; that symptom depends upon, and denotes, most important -disease in the brain: the only chance of saving life, is the prompt and -vigorous application of proper remedies to the brain; but the -practitioner whose mind is occupied with the symptom, and who prescribes -antispasmodics, not only loses the time in which alone any thing can be -done to snatch the victim from death, but by his remedies absolutely -adds fuel to the flame which is consuming his patient. In disease of the -hip-joint pain is felt, not in the hip, but, in the early stage of the -disease, at the knee. This also depends on nervous communication. The -most dreadful consequences daily occur from an ignorance of this single -fact. In all these cases error is inevitable, without a knowledge of -anatomy: it is scarcely possible with it: in all these cases error is -fatal: in all these cases anatomy alone can prevent the error—anatomy -alone can correct it. Experience, so far from leading to its detection, -would only establish it in men’s minds, and render its removal -impossible. What is called experience is of no manner of use to an -ignorant and unreflecting practitioner. In nothing does the adage, that -it is the wise only who profit by experience, receive so complete an -illustration as in medicine. A man who is ignorant of certain -principles, and who is incapable of reasoning in a certain manner, may -have daily before him, for fifty years, cases affording the most -complete evidence of the truth of those principles, and of the -importance of the deduction to which they lead, without observing the -one, or deducing the other. Hence the most profoundly ignorant of -medicine are often the oldest members of the profession, and those who -have had the most extensive practice. A medical education, founded on a -knowledge of anatomy, is, therefore, not only indispensable to prevent -the most fatal errors, but to enable a person to obtain advantage<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_7">{7}</a></span> from -those sources of improvement which extensive practice may open to him.</p> - -<p>To the surgeon, anatomy is eminently what Bacon has so beautifully said -knowledge in general is: it is power—it is power to lessen pain, to -save life, and to eradicate diseases, which, without its aid, would be -incurable and fatal. It is impossible to convey to the reader a clear -conception of this truth, without a reference to particular cases; and -the subject is one of such extreme importance, that it may be worth -while to direct the attention for a moment to two or three of the -capital diseases which the surgeon is daily called upon to treat. -Aneurism, for example, is a disease of an artery, and consists of a -preternatural dilatation of its coats. This dilatation arises from -debility of the vessel, whence, unable to resist the impetus of the -blood, it yields, and is dilated into a sac. When once the disease is -induced, it commonly goes on to increase with a steady and uninterrupted -progress, until at last it suddenly bursts, and the patient expires -either instantaneously from loss of blood, or by degrees from repeated -losses. When left to itself, it almost uniformly proves fatal in one or -other of these modes; yet, before the time of Galen, no notice was taken -of this terrible malady. The ancients, indeed, who believed that the -arteries were air tubes, could have had no conception of the existence -of an aneurism. Were the number of individuals in Europe, who are now -annually cured of aneurism, by the interference of art, to be assumed as -the basis of a calculation of the number of persons who must have -perished by this disease, from the beginning of the world to the time of -Galen, it would convey some conception of the extent to which anatomical -knowledge is the means of saving human life.</p> - -<p>The only way in which it is possible to cure this disease is, to produce -an obliteration of the cavity of the artery. This is the object of the -operation. The diseased artery is exposed, and a ligature is passed<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_8">{8}</a></span> -around it, above the dilatation, by means of which the blood is -prevented from flowing into the sac, and inflammation is excited in the -vessel; in consequence of which its sides adhere together, and its -cavity becomes obliterated. The success of the operation depends -entirely on the completeness of the adhesion of the sides of the vessel, -and the consequent obliteration of its cavity. This adhesion will not -take place unless the portion of the artery to which the ligature is -applied be in a sound state. If it be diseased, as it almost always is -near the seat of the aneurism, when the process of nature is completed -by which the ligature is removed, hemorrhage takes place, and the -patient dies just as if the aneurism had been left to itself. For a long -time the ligature was applied as close as possible to the seat of the -aneurism: the aneurismal sac was laid open in its whole extent, and the -blood it contained was scooped out. The consequence, was that a large -deep-seated sore, composed of parts in an unhealthy state, was formed: -it was necessary to the cure, that this sore should suppurate, -granulate, and heal: a process which the constitution was frequently -unable to support. Moreover, there was a constant danger that the -patient would perish from hemorrhage, through the want of adhesion of -the sides of the artery. The profound knowledge of healthy and of -diseased structure, and of the laws of the animal economy by which both -are regulated, which John Hunter had acquired from anatomy, suggested to -this eminent man a mode of operating, the effect of which, in preserving -human life, has placed him high in the rank of the benefactors of his -race. This consummate anatomist saw, that the reason why death so often -followed the common operation was, because that process which was -essential to its success was prevented by the diseased condition of the -artery. He perceived that the vessel, at some distance from the -aneurism, was in a sound state; and conceived that, if the ligature were -applied to this distant part, that is, to a<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_9">{9}</a></span> sound instead of a diseased -portion of the artery, this necessary process would not be counteracted. -To this there was one capital objection, that it would often be -necessary to apply the ligature around the main trunk of an artery, -before it gives off its branches, in consequence of which the parts -below the ligature would be deprived of their supply of blood, and would -therefore mortify. So frequent and great are the communications between -all the arteries of the body, however, that he thought it probable, that -a sufficient supply would be borne to these parts through the medium of -collateral branches. For an aneurism in the ham, he, therefore, boldly -cut down upon the main trunk of the artery which supplies the lower -extremity; and applied a ligature around it, where it is seated near the -middle of the thigh, in the confident expectation that, though he thus -deprived the limb of the supply of blood which it received through its -direct channel, it would not perish. His knowledge of the processes of -the animal economy led him to expect that the force of the circulation -being thus taken off from the aneurismal sac, the progress of the -disease would be stopped; that the sac itself, with all its contents, -would be absorbed; that by this means the whole tumour would be removed, -and that an opening into it would be unnecessary. The most complete -success followed this noble experiment, and the sensations which this -philosopher experienced when he witnessed the event, must have been -exquisite, and have constituted an appropriate reward for the -application of profound knowledge to the mitigation of human suffering. -After Hunter followed Abernethy, who, treading in the footsteps of his -master, for an aneurism of the femoral, placed a ligature around the -external iliac artery; lately the internal iliac itself has been taken -up, and surgeons have tied arteries of such importance, that they have -been themselves astonished at the extent and splendor of their success. -Every individual on whom an operation of this kind has been successfully -per<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_10">{10}</a></span>formed, is snatched by it from certain and inevitable death!</p> - -<p>The symptom by which an aneurism is distinguished from every other -tumour is, chiefly, its pulsating motion. But when an aneurism has -become very large, it ceases to pulsate; and when an abscess is seated -near an artery of great magnitude, it acquires a pulsating motion; -because the pulsations of the artery are perceptible through the -abscess. The real nature of cases of this kind cannot possibly be -ascertained, without a most careful investigation, combined with an -exact knowledge of the structure and relative position of all the parts -in the neighbourhood of the tumour. Pelletan, one of the most -distinguished surgeons of France, was one day called to a man who, after -a long walk, was seized with a severe pain in the leg, over the seat of -which appeared a tumour, which was attended with a pulsation so violent -that it lifted up the hand of the examiner. There seemed every reason to -suppose that the case was an aneurismal swelling. This acute observer, -however, in comparing the affected with the sound limb, perceived in the -latter a similar throbbing. On careful examination he discovered that, -by a particular disposition in this individual, one of the main arteries -of the leg (the anterior tibial) deviated from its usual course, and -instead of plunging deep between the muscles, lay immediately under the -skin and fascia. The truth was, that the man in the exertion of walking -had ruptured some muscular fibres, and the uncommon distribution of the -artery gave to this accident these peculiar symptoms. The real nature of -this case could not possibly have been ascertained, but by an anatomist. -The same surgeon has recorded the case of a man who, having fallen twice -from his horse, and experienced for several years considerable -uneasiness in his back, was at length afflicted with acute pain in the -abdomen. At the same time an oval, irregularly circumscribed tumour made -its appearance in the right flank. It presented a distinct fluctuation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_11">{11}</a></span> -and had all the appearance of a collection of matter depending on caries -of the vertebræ. The pain was seated chiefly at the lower portion of -that part of the spine which forms the back, which was, moreover, -distorted; and this might have confirmed the opinion that the case was a -lumbar abscess with caries. Pelletan, however, who well knew that an -aneurism, as it enlarges, may destroy any bone in its neighbourhood, saw -that the disease was an aneurism, and predicted that the patient must -perish. On opening the body (for the man lived only ten days after -Pelletan first saw him) an aneurismal tumour was discovered, which -nearly filled the cavity of the abdomen. If this case had been mistaken -for lumbar abscess, and the tumour had been opened with a view of -affording an exit to the matter, the man would have died in a few -seconds. There is no surgeon of discernment and experience whose -attention has not been awakened, and whose sagacity has not been put to -the test, by the occurrence of similar cases in his own practice. The -consequence of error is almost always instantaneously fatal. The -catalogue of such disastrous events is long and melancholy. Richerand -has recorded, that Ferrand, head surgeon of the Hotel-Dieu, mistook an -aneurism in the armpit for an abscess; plunged his knife into the -swelling, and killed the patient. De Haen speaks of a person who died in -consequence of an opening which was made, contrary to the advice of -Boerhaave in a similar tumour at the knee. Vesalius was consulted about -a tumour in the back, which he pronounced to be an aneurism; but an -ignorant practitioner having made an opening into it, the patient -instantly bled to death. Nothing can be more easy than to confound an -aneurism of the artery of the neck with a swelling of the glands in its -neighbourhood: with a swelling of the cellular substance which surrounds -the artery; with abscesses of various kinds; but if a surgeon were to -fall into this error, and to open a carotid aneurism, his patient would -certainly be dead<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_12">{12}</a></span> in the space of a few moments. It must be evident, -then, that a thorough knowledge of anatomy is not only indispensable to -the proper treatment of cases of this description, but also to the -prevention of the most fatal mistakes.</p> - -<p>There is nothing in surgery of more importance than the proper treatment -of hemorrhage. Of the confusion and terror occasioned by the sight of a -human being from whom the blood is gushing in torrents, and whose -condition none of the spectators is able to relieve, no one can form an -adequate conception, but those who have witnessed it. In all such cases -there is one thing proper to be done, the prompt performance of which is -generally as certainly successful, as the neglect of it is inevitably -fatal. It is impossible to conceive of a more terrible situation than -that of a medical man who knows not what to do on such an emergency. He -is confused; he hesitates: while he is deciding what measures to adopt -the patient expires: he can never think of that man’s death without -horror, for he is conscious that, but for his ignorance he might have -averted his patient’s fate. The ancient surgeons were constantly placed -in this situation, and the dread inspired by it retarded the progress of -surgery more than all other causes put together. Not only were they -terrified from interfering with the most painful and destructive -diseases, which experience has proved to be capable of safe and easy -removal, but they were afraid to cut even the most trivial tumour. When -they ventured to remove a part, they attempted it only by means of the -ligature, or by the application of burning irons. When they determined -to amputate, they never thought of doing so, until the limb had -mortified, and the dead had separated from the living parts; for they -were absolutely afraid to cut into the living flesh. They had no means -of stopping hemorrhage, but by the application of astringents to the -bleeding vessels, remedies which were inert; or of burning irons, or -boiling turpentine, expedients which were<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_13">{13}</a></span> not only inert but cruel. -Surgeons now know that the grand means of stopping hemorrhage is -compression of the bleeding vessel. If pressure be made on the trunk of -an artery, though blood be flowing from a thousand branches given off -from it, the bleeding will cease. Should the situation of the artery be -such as to allow of effectual external pressure, nothing further is -requisite: the pressure being applied, the bleeding is stopped at once: -should the situation of the vessel place it beyond the reach of external -pressure, it is necessary to cut down upon it, and to secure it by the -application of a ligature. Parè may be pardoned for supposing that he -was led to the discovery of this invaluable remedy by inspiration of the -Deity. By means of it the most formidable operations may be undertaken -with the utmost confidence, because the wounded vessels can be secured -the moment they are cut: by the same means the most frightful -hemorrhages may be effectually stopped: and even when the bleeding is so -violent as to threaten immediate death, it may often be averted by the -simple expedient of placing the finger upon the wounded vessel, until -there is time to tie it. But it is obvious that none of these expedients -can be employed, and that these bleedings can neither be checked at the -moment, nor permanently stopped, without such a knowledge of the course -of the trunks and branches of vessels, as can be acquired only by the -study of anatomy.</p> - -<p>The success of amputation is closely connected with the knowledge of the -means of stopping hemorrhage. Not to amputate, is often to abandon the -patient to a certain and miserable death. And all that the surgeon -formerly did, was to watch the progress of that death: he had no power -to stop or even to retard it. The fate of sir Philip Sidney is a -melancholy illustration of this truth. This noble-minded man, the light -and glory of his age, was cut off in the bloom of manhood, and the midst -of his usefulness, by the wound of a<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_14">{14}</a></span> musket bullet in his left leg, a -little above the knee, “when extraction of the ball, or amputation of -the limb,” says his biographer, “would have saved his inestimable life: -but the surgeons and physicians were unwilling to practice the one, and -knew not how to perform the other. He was variously tormented by a -number of surgeons and physicians for three weeks.” Amputation indeed -was never attempted except where mortification had itself half performed -the operation. The just apprehension of an hemorrhage which there was no -adequate means of stopping, checked the hand of the boldest surgeon, and -quailed the courage of the most daring patient—and if ever the -operation was resorted to, it almost always proved fatal: the patient -generally expired, according to the expression of Celsus, “<i>in ipso -opere</i>.” How could it be otherwise? The surgeon cut through the flesh of -his patient with a red hot knife: this was his only means of stopping -the hemorrhage: by this expedient he sought to convert the whole surface -of the stump into an eschar: but this operation, painful in its -execution, and terrible in its consequences, when it even appeared to -succeed, succeeded only for a few days; for the bleeding generally -returned and proved fatal as soon as the sloughs or dead parts became -loose. Plunging the stump into boiling oil, into boiling turpentine, -into boiling pitch, for all these means were used, was attended with no -happier result, and after unspeakable suffering, almost every patient -perished. In the manner in which amputation is performed at present, not -more than one person in twenty loses his life in consequence of the -operation, even taking into the account all the cases in which it is -practised in hospitals. In private practice, where many circumstances -favour its success, it is computed that 95 persons out of 100 recover -from it, when it is performed at a proper time, and in a proper manner. -It seems impossible to exhibit a more striking illustration of the great -value of anatomical knowledge.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_15">{15}</a></span></p> - -<p>But if there be any disease which, from the frequency of its occurrence, -from the variety of its forms, from the difficulty of discriminating -between it, and other maladies, and from the danger attendant on almost -all its varieties, requires a combination of the most minute -investigation, with the most accurate anatomical knowledge, it is that -of hernia. This disease consists of a protrusion of some of the viscera -of the abdomen, from the cavity in which they are naturally contained, -into a preternatural bag, composed of the portion of the peritoneum (the -membrane which lines the abdomen) which is pushed before them. It is -computed that one sixteenth of the human race are afflicted with this -malady. It is sometimes merely an inconvenient complaint, attended with -no evil consequences whatever: but there is no form of this disease, -which is not liable to be suddenly changed, and by slight causes, from a -perfectly innocent state, into a condition which may prove fatal in a -few hours. The disease itself occurs in numerous situations; it may be -confounded with various diseases; it may exist in the most diversified -states; it may require, without the loss of a single moment, a most -important and delicate operation; and it may appear to demand this -operation, while the performance of it may really be not only useless, -but highly pernicious.</p> - -<p>The danger of hernia depends on its passing into that state which is -technically termed strangulation. When a protruded intestine suffers -such a degree of pressure, as to occasion a total obstruction to the -passage of its contents, it is said to be strangulated. The consequence -of pressure thus producing strangulation is, the excitement of -inflammation: this inflammation must inevitably prove fatal unless the -pressure be promptly removed. In most cases this can be effected only by -the operation. Two things, then, are indispensable: first, the ability -to ascertain that the symptoms are really produced by pressure, that is, -to distinguish the disease from the affections<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_16">{16}</a></span> which resemble it; and -secondly, when this is effected, to perform the operation with -promptitude and success. The distinction of strangulated hernia from -affections which resemble it, often requires the most exact knowledge -and the most minute investigation. The intestine included in a hernial -sac may be merely affected with colic, and thus give rise to the -appearance of strangulation. It may be in a state of irritation, -produced, for example, by unusual fatigue; and from this cause may be -attacked with the symptoms of inflammation. Inflammation may be excited -in the intestine, by the common causes of inflammation, which the hernia -may have no share in inducing, and of which it may not even participate. -Were this case mistaken, and the operation performed, it would not only -be useless, but pernicious: while the attention of the practitioner -would be diverted from the real nature of the malady; the prompt and -vigorous application of the remedies which alone could save the patient -would be neglected, and he would probably perish. On the other hand, a -very small portion of intestine may become strangulated, and urgently -require the operation. But there maybe no tumor; all the symptoms may be -those, and, on a superficial examination, only those, of inflammation of -the bowels. Were the real nature of this case mistaken, death would be -inevitable. Nothing is more common than fatal errors of this kind. It is -only a few months ago, that a physician was called in haste to a person -who was said to be dying of inflammation of the bowels. Before he -reached the house the man was dead. He had been ill only three days. On -looking at the abdomen, there was a manifest hernia; the first glance -was sufficient to ascertain the fact. The practitioner in attendance had -known nothing of the matter; he had never suspected the real nature of -the disease, and had made no inquiry which could have led to the -detection of it. Here was a case which might probably have been saved, -but for the criminal ignorance<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_17">{17}</a></span> and inattention of the practitioner. -Whenever there are symptoms of inflammation of the bowels, examination -of the abdomen is indispensable: and the life of the patient will often -depend on the care and accuracy with which the investigation is made.</p> - -<p>But it is possible that inflammation may attack the parts included in -the hernial sac, without arising from the hernia itself. The -inflammation may be produced by the common causes of inflammation: there -may be no pressure: there may be no strangulation: the swelling may be -the seat, not the cause of the disease. In this case, too, the operation -would be both useless and pernicious. Now all these are diversities -which it is of the highest importance to discriminate. In some of them -life depends on the clearness, accuracy, and promptitude, with which the -discrimination is made. Promptitude is of no less consequence than -accuracy. If the decision be not formed and acted on at once, it will be -of no avail. The rapidity of the progress of this disease is often -frightful. We have mentioned a case in which it was fatal in three days, -but it not unfrequently terminates fatally in less than twenty-four -hours. Sir Astley Cooper mentions a case in which the patient was dead -in eight hours after the commencement of the disease. Larrey has -recorded the case of a soldier in whom a hernia took place, which was -strangulated immediately. He was brought to the “ambulance” instantly, -and perished in two hours with gangrene of the part, and of the -abdominal viscera. This was the second instance which had occurred to -this surgeon of a rapidity thus appalling. What clearness of judgment, -what accuracy of knowledge, what promptitude of decision, are necessary -to treat such a disease with any chance of success!</p> - -<p>The moment that a case is ascertained to be strangulated hernia, an -attempt must be made to liberate the parts from the stricture, and to -replace them in their natural situation. This is first attempted by the -hand, and the operation is technically termed the <i>taxis</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_18">{18}</a></span> The patient -must be placed in a particular position; pressure must be made in a -particular direction; it is impossible to ascertain either, without an -accurate knowledge of the structure of the parts. If pressure be made in -a wrong direction, and in a rough and unscientific manner, the organs -protruded instead of being urged through the proper opening are bruised -against the parts which oppose their return. Many cases are on record, -in which gangrene and even rupture of the intestine have been occasioned -in this manner. When the parts cannot be returned by the hand, assisted -by those remedies which experience has proved to be beneficial, the -operation must be performed without the delay of a moment. To its proper -performance two things are necessary. First, a minute anatomical -knowledge of the various and complicated parts which are implicated in -it; and secondly, a steady, firm, and delicate command of the knife. In -the first place, the integuments must be divided; the cellular substance -which intervenes between the skin and the hernial sac must be removed -layer by layer with the knife and the dissecting forceps; the sac itself -must be opened: this part of the operation must be performed with the -most extreme caution: the sac being laid open, the protruded organs are -now exposed to view. The operator must next ascertain the exact point -where the stricture exists; having discovered its seat, he must make his -incision with a particular instrument—in a certain direction—to a -definite extent. On account of the nature of the parts implicated in the -operation, and the proximity of important vessels, life depends on an -exact knowledge and a precise and delicate attention to all these -circumstances. How can this knowledge be obtained, how can this -dexterity be acquired without a profound acquaintance with anatomy, and -how can this be acquired without frequent and laborious dissection? The -eye must become familiar with the appearance of the integuments, with -the appearance of the cellular substance beneath it,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_19">{19}</a></span> with the -appearance of the hernial sac, and of the changes which it undergoes by -disease; with the appearance of the various viscera contained in it, and -of their changes; and the hand must pay that steady and prompt obedience -to the judgment which nothing but knowledge and the consciousness of -knowledge can command. Even this is not all. When the operation has been -performed thus far with perfect skill and success, the most opposite -measures are required according to the actual state of the organs -contained in the sac. If they are agglutinated together—if portions of -them are in a state of mortification, to return them into the cavity of -the abdomen in that condition would in general be certain death. -Preternatural adhesion must be removed; mortified portions must be cut -away: but how can this possibly be done without an acquaintance with -healthy and diseased structure, and how can this be obtained without -dissecting the organs in a state of health and of disease?</p> - -<p>It has been stated that the progress of strangulated hernia to a fatal -termination is often frightfully rapid; in certain cases to delay the -operation, even for a very short period, is, therefore, to lose the only -chance of success. But ignorant and half-informed surgeons are afraid to -operate. They are conscious that the operation is one of immense -importance: they know that in the hands of an operator ignorant of -anatomy, it is one of extreme hazard: they therefore put off the time as -long as possible: they have recourse to every expedient: they resort to -every thing but the only efficient remedy, and when at last they are -compelled by a secret sense of shame to try that, it is too late. All -the best practical surgeons express themselves in the strongest language -on the importance of performing the operation early, if it be performed -at all. On this point there is a perfect accordance between the most -celebrated practitioners on the continent, and the great surgeons of our -own country: all represent, in many parts of their writings, the -dangerous and fatal<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_20">{20}</a></span> effects of delay. Mr. Hey in his Practical -Observations, states that when he first began practice, he considered -the operation as the last resource, and only to be employed when the -danger appeared imminent. “By this dilatory mode of practice,” says he, -“I lost three patients in five, upon whom the operation was performed. -Having more experience of the urgency of the disease, I made it my -custom, when called to a patient who had laboured two or three days -under the disease, to wait only about two hours, that I might try the -effect of bleeding (if that evacuation was not forbidden by some -peculiar circumstance of the case) and the tobacco clyster. In this mode -of practice I lost about two patients in nine, upon whom I operated. -This comparison is drawn from cases nearly similar, leaving out of the -account those cases in which gangrene of the intestine had taken place. -I have now, at the time of writing this, performed the operation -thirty-five times; and have often had occasion to lament that I -performed it too late, but never that I had performed it too soon.”</p> - -<p>These observations are sufficient to show the importance of anatomy in -certain surgical diseases. The state of medical opinion from the -earliest ages to the present time, furnishes a most instructive proof of -its necessity to the detection and cure of disease in general. The -doctrines of the father of physic were in the highest degree vague and -unmeaning. Every thing is resolved by Hippocrates into a general -principle, which he terms nature; and to which he ascribes intelligence; -which he clothes with the attribute of justice; and which he represents -as possessing virtues and powers which he says are her servants, and by -means of which she performs all her operations in the bodies of animals, -distributes the blood, spirits, and heat, through all the parts of the -body, and imparts to them life and sensation. He states that the manner -in which she acts, is by attracting what is good or agreeable to each -species, and retaining,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_21">{21}</a></span> preparing, and changing it: or, on the other -hand, by rejecting whatever is superfluous or hurtful, after she has -separated it from the good. This is the foundation of the doctrine of -depuration, concoction, and crisis in fevers, so much insisted on by him -and by other physicians after him; but when he explains what he means by -nature, he resolves it into heat, which he says appears to have -something immortal in it.</p> - -<p>The great opponent of Hippocrates was Asclepiades. He asserted that -matter, considered in itself, is of an unchangeable nature: that all -perceptible bodies are composed of a number of small ones, termed -corpuscles, between which there are interspersed an infinity of small -spaces totally void of matter: that the soul itself is composed of these -corpuscles: that what is called nature is nothing more than matter and -motion: that Hippocrates knew not what he said when he spoke of nature -as an intelligent being, and ascribed to her various qualities and -virtues: that the corpuscles, of which all bodies are composed, are of -different figures, and consist of different assemblages: that all bodies -contain numerous pores, or interstices, which are of different sizes: -that the human body, like all other bodies, possesses pores peculiar to -itself: that these pores are larger or smaller, according as the -corpuscles which pass through them differ in magnitude: that the blood -consists of the largest and the spirits and the heat of the smallest. On -these principles Asclepiades founded his theory of medicine. He -maintains that, as long as the corpuscles are freely received by the -pores, the body remains in its natural state: that, on the contrary, as -soon as any obstacle obstructs their passage, it begins to recede from -that state: that, therefore, health depends on the just proportion -between these pores and corpuscles: that, on the contrary, disease -proceeds from a disproportion between them: that the most usual obstacle -arises from a retention of some of the corpuscles in their ordinary -passages, where they arrive<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_22">{22}</a></span> in too large a number, or are of irregular -figures, or move too fast or proceed too slow: that phrensies, -lethargies, pleurisies, burning fevers, for example, are occasioned by -these corpuscles stopping of their own accord: that pain is produced by -the stagnation of the largest of all these corpuscles, of which the -blood consists: that, on the contrary, deliriums, languors, -extenuations, leanness and dropsies derive their origin from a bad state -of the pores, which are too much relaxed, or opened: that dropsy, in -particular, proceeds from the flesh being perforated with various small -holes which convert the nourishment received into them into water; that -hunger is occasioned by an opening of the large pores of the stomach and -belly: that thirst arises from an opening of the small pores: that -intermittent fevers have the same origin: that quotidian fever is -produced by a retention of the largest corpuscles; tertian fever by a -retention of corpuscles somewhat smaller; and quartan fever by a -retention of the smallest corpuscles of all.</p> - -<p>Galen maintained that the animal body is composed of three principles, -namely, the solids, the humours, and the spirits: that the solid parts -consist of similar and organic: that the humours are four in number, -namely, the blood, the phlegm, the yellow bile, and the black bile: that -the spirits are of three kinds, namely, the vital, the animal, and the -natural; that the vital spirit is a subtle vapour which arises from the -blood, and which derives its origin from the liver, the organ of -sanguification: that the spirits, thus formed, are conveyed to the -heart, where, in conjunction with the air drawn into the lungs by -respiration, they become the matter of the second species, namely, of -the vital spirits; that in their turn the vital spirits are changed into -the animal in the brain, and so on.</p> - -<p>At last came Paracelsus, who was believed to have discovered the elixir -of life, and who is the very prince of charlatans. He delivered a course -of lectures on the theory and practice of physic at the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_23">{23}</a></span> University of -Basle, which he commenced, by burning the works of Galen and Avicenna in -the presence of his auditory. He assured his hearers that his -shoe-latchets had more knowledge than both these illustrious authors put -together: that all the academies in the world had not so much experience -as his beard; and that the hair on the back of his neck was more learned -than the whole tribe of authors. It was fitting that a person of such -splendid pretensions should have a magnificent name. He, therefore, -called himself <span class="smcap">Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelcus Bombast Von -Hohenheim</span>. He was a great chemist, and, like other chemists, he was a -little too apt to carry into other sciences “the smoke and tarnish of -the furnace.” He conceived that the elements of the living system were -the same as those of his laboratory, and that sulphur, salt, and -quicksilver were the constituents of organised bodies. He taught that -these constituents were combined by chemical operations: that their -relations were governed by Archeus, a demon, who performed the part of -alchemist in the stomach, who separated the poisonous from the nutritive -part of the food, and who communicated the tincture by which the food -became capable of assimilation: that this governor of the stomach, this -<i>spiritus vitæ</i>, this astral body of man, was the immediate cause of all -diseases and the chief agent in their cure: that each member of the body -had its peculiar stomach, by which the work of secretion was effected: -that diseases were produced by certain influences, of which there were -five in particular, viz. <i>ens estrale</i>, <i>ens veneni</i>, <i>ens naturale</i>, -<i>ens spirituale</i>, and <i>ens deale</i>; that when the Archeus was sick, -putrescence was occasioned, and that either <i>localiter</i> or -<i>emunctorialiter</i>, &c. &c.</p> - -<p>It would be leading to a detail which is incompatible with our present -purpose to follow these speculations, or to give an account of the -doctrines of the mechanical physicians, who believed that every -oper<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_24">{24}</a></span>ation of the animal economy was explained by comparing it to a -system of ropes, levers, and pulleys, united with a number of rigid -tubes of different lengths and diameters, containing fluids which, from -variations in their impelling causes, moved with different degrees of -velocity: or of the chemical physicians, whose manner of theorizing and -investigating would have qualified them better for the occupation of the -brewer or of the distiller than for that of the physician. All these -speculations are idle fancies, without any evidence whatever to support -them; and it has been argued that, for this very reason, they must have -been without any practical result, and that, therefore, if they were -productive of no benefit, they were, at least, innoxious. No opinion can -be more false or pernicious. These wretched theories not only -pre-occupied the mind, prevented it from observing the real phenomena of -health and of disease, and the actual effect of the remedies which were -employed, and thus put an effectual stop to the progress of the science: -but they were productive of the most direct and serious evils. It is no -less true in medicine than in philosophy and morals, that there is no -such thing as innoxious error; that men’s opinions invariably influence -their conduct; and that physicians, like other men, act as they think. -Asclepiades, whose mind was full of corpuscles and interstices, was -intent on finding suitable remedies, which he discovered in gestation, -friction, and the use of wine. By various exercises he proposed to -render the pores more open, and to make the juices and corpuscles, the -retention of which causes disease, to pass more freely. Hence he used -gestation from the very beginning of the most burning fevers. He laid it -down as a maxim that one fever was to be cured by another; that the -strength of the patient was to be exhausted by making him watch and -endure thirst to such a degree that for the first two days of the -disorder he would not allow them to cool their mouths with a drop of -water.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_25">{25}</a></span> Abernethy’s regulated diet is luxurious living compared to his -plan of abstinence. For the three first days he allowed his patients no -aliment whatever; on the fourth, he so far relented as to give to some -of them a small portion of food; but from others he absolutely withheld -all nourishment till the seventh day. And this is the gentleman who laid -it down as a maxim that all diseases are to be cured “<i>Tutò, celeriter -et jucunde</i>.” To be sure he was a believer in the doctrine of -compensation; and in the latter stage of their diseases endeavoured to -recompence his patients for the privations he caused them to endure in -the beginning of their illness. Celsus observes that though he treated -his patients like a butcher during the first days of the disorder, he -afterwards indulged them so far as to give directions for making their -beds in the softest manner. He allowed them abundance of wine which he -gave freely in all fevers; he did not forbid it even to those afflicted -with phrenzy; nay, he ordered them to drink it till they were -intoxicated; for, said he, it is absolutely necessary that persons who -labour under phrenzy should sleep, and wine has a narcotic quality. To -lethargic patients he prescribed it with great freedom, but with the -opposite purpose of rousing them from their stupor. His great remedy in -dropsy was friction, which, of course, he employed to open the pores. -With the same view he enjoined active exercise to the sick; but what is -a little extraordinary, he denied it to those in health.</p> - -<p>Erisistratus, who was a great speculator, and whose theories had the -most important influence on his practice, banished blood-letting -altogether from medicine, for the following notable reasons: because, he -says, we cannot always see the vein we intend to open; because we are -not sure we may not open an artery instead of a vein; because we cannot -ascertain the true quantity to be taken; because if we take too little, -the intention is not answered; if too much, we may destroy the patient: -and because the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_26">{26}</a></span> evacuation of the venous blood is succeeded by that of -the spirits, which thus pass from the arteries into the veins; -wherefore, blood-letting ought never to be used as a remedy in disease. -Yet, though he was thus cautious in abstracting blood, it must not be -supposed that he was not a sufficiently bold practitioner. In tumour of -the liver, he hesitated not to cut open the abdomen, and to apply his -medicines immediately to the diseased organ; but though he took such -liberties with the liver, he regarded with the greatest apprehension the -operation of tapping in dropsy of the abdomen: because, said he, the -waters being evacuated, the liver which is inflamed and become hard like -a stone, is more pressed by the adjacent parts, which the waters kept at -a distance from it, whence the patient dies.</p> - -<p>One physician conceived that gout originated from an effervescence of -the synovia of the joints with the vitriolated blood: whence he -recommended alcohol for its cure: a remedy for which the court of -aldermen ought to have voted him a medal. A more ancient practitioner -who believed that the finger of St. Blasius was very efficacious “for -removing a bone which sticks in the throat,” maintained that gout was -the “grand drier,” and prescribed a remedy for it which the patient was -to use for a whole year, and to observe the following diet each month: -in September he must eat and drink milk; in October he must eat garlic; -in November he is to abstain from bathing; in December he must eat no -cabbage; in January he is to take a glass of pure wine in the morning; -in February to eat no beef; in March to mix several things both in -eatables and drinkables; in April not to eat horse-radish; nor in May -the fish called Polypus; in June he is to drink cold water in a morning; -in July to avoid venery; and lastly, in August to eat no mallows.</p> - -<p>A third physician deduced all diseases from inspissation of the fluids; -hence he attached the highest<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_27">{27}</a></span> importance to diluent drinks, and -believed that tea, especially, is a sovereign remedy in almost every -disease to which the human frame is subject: “tea,” says Bentakoe, who -is loudest in his praises of this panacea, and who, as Blumenback -observes, ‘deserved to have been pensioned by the East India Company for -his services,’ “tea is the best, nay, the only remedy for correcting -viscidity of the blood, the source of all diseases, and for dissipating -the acid of the stomach, as it contains a fine oleaginous volatile salt, -and certain subtle spirits which are analogous in their nature to the -animal spirits. Tea fortifies the memory and all the intellectual -faculties: it will therefore furnish the most effectual means of -improving physical education. Against fever there is no better remedy -than forty or fifty cups of tea swallowed immediately after one another; -the slime of the pancreas is thus carried off.”</p> - -<p>Another physician derived all diseases from a redundancy or deficiency -of fire or water. He maintained that where the water predominated the -fluids became viscid, and that hence arose intermittent fevers and -anthritic complaints. His remedies are in strict conformity to his -theory. These diseases are to be cured by volatile salts, which abound -with fiery particles; venesection in any case is highly pernicious; -these fiery medicines are the only efficacious remedies, and are to be -employed even in diseases of the most inflammatory nature. “Life,” says -Dr. Brown, “is a forced state:” it is a flame kept alive by excitement; -every thing stimulates; some substances too violently; others not -sufficiently; there are thus too kinds of debility, indirect and direct, -and to one or other of these causes must be referred the origin of all -diseases. According to this doctrine the mode of cure is simple: we have -nothing to do but to supply, to moderate, or to abstract stimuli. Typhus -fever, in this system, is a disease of extreme debility: we must -therefore give the strongest stimulants. Con<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_28">{28}</a></span>sumption and apoplexy, -also, are diseases of debility; of course the remedies are active -stimulants. Humanity shudders, and with reason, at the application of -such doctrines to practice. And not less destitute of reason, and not -less dangerous in practice, is the great doctrine of debility -promulgated by Cullen. This celebrated professor taught that the -circumstance which invariably characterized fever, that which -constituted its essence, was debility. The inference was obvious, that, -above all things, the strength must be supported. The consequence was, -that blood-letting was neglected, and that bark and wine were given in -immense quantities, in cases in which intense inflammation existed. The -practice was in the highest degree mortal; the number of persons who -have perished in consequence of this doctrine is incalculable. So far -then is it from being true that medical theories are of no practical -importance, that there is the closest possible connection between the -speculations of the physician in his closet, and the measures which he -adopts at the bed side of his patient. Truth to him is a benignant power -which stops the progress of disease, protracts the duration of life, and -mitigates the suffering it may be unable to remove: error is a fearfully -active and tremendously potent principle. There is not a medical -prejudice which has not slain its thousands, nor a false theory which -has not immolated its tens of thousands. The system of medicine and -surgery which is established in any country, has a greater influence -over the lives of its inhabitants than the epidemic diseases produced by -its climate, or the decisions of its government concerning peace and -war. The devastations of the yellow fever will bear no comparison with -the ravages committed by the Brunonian system; and the slaughter of the -field of Waterloo counts not of victims, a tithe of the number of which -the Cullenian doctrine of debility can justly boast. Anatomy alone will -not teach a physician to think, much less to think justly; but it will<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_29">{29}</a></span> -give him the elements of thinking; it will furnish him with the means of -correcting his errors; it will certainly save him from some delusions, -and will afford to the public the best shield against his ignorance, -which may be fatal, and against his presumption, which may be -devastating.</p> - -<p>We have entered into this minute detail at the hazard, we are aware, of -tiring the reader; but in the hope of leaving on his mind a more -distinct impression of the importance of anatomical knowledge than could -possibly be produced by a mere allusion to the circumstances which have -been explained. In all ages formidable obstacles have opposed the -prosecution of anatomical investigations. Among these, without doubt, -the most powerful has its source in a feeling which is natural to the -heart of man. The sweetest, the most sacred associations are -indissolubly connected with the person of those we love. It is with the -corporeal frame that our senses have been familiar: it is that on which -we have gazed with rapture: it is that which has so often been the -medium of conveying to our hearts the thrill of extacy. We cannot -separate the idea of the peculiarities and actions of a friend from the -idea of his person. It is for this reason that “every thing which has -been associated with him acquires a value from that consideration; his -ring, his watch, his books, and his habitation. The value of these as -having been his is not merely fictitious; they have an empire over my -mind; they can make me happy or unhappy; they can torture and they can -tranquillize; they can purify my sentiments and make me similar to the -man I love; they possess the virtue which the Indian is said to -attribute to the spoils of him he kills, and inspire me with the powers, -the feelings, and the heart of their preceding master.” It is nothing, -the survivor may justly say, to tell me, when disease has completed its -work, and death has seized its prey, that that body, with which are -connected so many delightful associations, is a senseless mass of -matter: that it is no<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_30">{30}</a></span> longer my friend, that the spirit which animated -it and rendered it lovely to my sight and dear to my affections, is -gone. I know that it is gone. I know that I never more shall see the -light of intelligence brighten that countenance, nor benevolence beam in -that eye, nor the voice of affection sound from those lips: that which I -loved, and which loved me, is not here: but here are still the features -of my friend: this is his form, and the very particles of matter which -compose this dull mass, a few hours ago were a real part of him, and I -cannot separate them, in my imagination, from him. And I approach them -with the profounder reverence; I gaze upon them with the deeper -affection because they are all that remain to me. I would give all that -I possess to purchase the art of preserving the wholesome character and -rosy hue of this form that it might be my companion still: but this is -impossible: I cannot detain it from the tomb: but when I have “cast a -heap of mould upon the person of my friend and taken the cold earth for -its keeper,” I visit the spot in which it is deposited with awe: it is -sacred to my imagination: it is dear to my heart. There is a real and -deep foundation for these feelings in human nature: they arise -spontaneously in the bosom of man, and we see their expression and their -power in the customs of all nations, savage as well as civilized, and in -the conduct of all men, the most ignorant and uncultivated no less than -the most intelligent and refined. It has been the policy of society to -foster these sentiments. It has been conceived that the sanctity which -attaches to the dead, is reflected back in a profounder feeling of -respect for the living; that the solemnity with which death is regarded -elevates, in the general estimation, the value of life; and that he who -cannot approach the mortal remains of a fellow creature without an -emotion of awe, must regard with horror every thing which places in -danger the life of a human being. Religion has contributed indirectly, -but powerfully, to the strength and perpetuity of these impressions; and -superstition<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_31">{31}</a></span> has availed herself of them to play her antics and to -accomplish her base and malignant purposes. It is not the eradication of -these feelings that can be desired, but their control: it is not the -extinction of these natural and useful emotions that is pleaded for, but -that they should give way to higher considerations when these exist. -Veneration for the dead is connected with the noblest and sweetest -sympathies of our nature: but the promotion of the happiness of the -living is a duty from which we can never be exonerated.</p> - -<p>In ancient times the voice of reason could not be heard. Superstition, -and customs founded on superstition, excited an influence which was -neither to be resisted nor evaded. Dissection was then regarded with -horror. In the warm countries of the East the pursuit must have been -highly offensive and even dangerous, and it was absolutely incompatible -with the notions and ceremonies universally prevalent in those days. The -Jewish tenet of pollution must have formed an insuperable obstacle to -the cultivation of anatomy amongst that people. By the Egyptians every -one who cut open a dead body was regarded with inexpressible horror. The -Grecian philosophers so far overcame the prejudice as occasionally to -engage in the pursuit, and the first dissection on record was one made -by Democritus of Abdera, the friend of Hippocrates, in order to discover -the course of the bile. The Romans contributed nothing to the progress -of the art: they were content with propitiating the Deities who presided -over health and disease. They erected on the Palatine Mount a temple to -the goddess Febris, whom they worshipped from a dread of her power. They -also sacrificed to the goddess Ossipaga, who, it seems, presided over -the growth of the bones, and to another styled Carna, who took care of -the viscera, and to whom they offered bean-broth, and bacon, because -these were the most nutritious articles of diet. The Arabians adopted -the Jewish notion of pollution, and were thus prohibited by the tenets -of<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_32">{32}</a></span> their religion from practising dissection. Abdollaliph, who -flourished about the year 1200, a man of learning and a teacher of -anatomy, never saw and never thought of a human dissection. In order to -examine and demonstrate the bones, he took his students to burying -grounds and earnestly recommended them, instead of reading books, to -adopt that method of study: yet he seems to have had no conception that -the dissection of a recent subject might be a still better method of -learning. Christians were equally hostile to dissection. Pope Boniface -the 8th issued a bull prohibiting even the maceration and preparation of -skeletons. The priests were the only physicians, and so greatly did they -abuse the office they assumed, that the evil at length became too -intolerable to be borne. The church itself was obliged to prohibit the -priesthood from interfering with the practice of medicine. All monks and -canons who applied themselves to physic, were threatened with severe -penalties, and all bishops, abbots, and priors who connived at their -misconduct were ordered to be suspended from their ecclesiastical -functions. But it was not till three hundred years after this -interdiction, that, by a special bull which permitted physicians to -marry, their complete separation from the clergy was effected.</p> - -<p>In the 14th century, Mundinus, professor at Bologna, astonished the -world by the public dissection of two human bodies. In the 15th century, -Leonardo da Vinci contributed essentially to the progress of the art, by -the introduction of anatomical plates which were admirably executed. In -the 16th century, the Emperor, Charles the 5th, ordered a consultation -to be held by the divines of Salamanca, to determine whether it was -lawful, in point of conscience, to dissect a dead body in order to learn -its structure. In the 17th century, Cortesius, professor of anatomy at -Bologna, and afterwards professor of medicine at Messina, had long begun -a treatise on practical anatomy which he had an earnest desire to -finish, but so great was the difficulty of prosecuting the study even -in<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_33">{33}</a></span> Italy, that in 24 years he could only twice procure an opportunity -of dissecting a human body, and even then with difficulty and in a -hurry; whereas, he had expected to have done so, he says, once every -year, according to the custom of the famous academies of Italy. In -Muscovy, until very lately, both anatomy and the use of skeletons were -positively forbidden; the first as inhuman, and the latter as -subservient to witchcraft. Even the illustrious Luther was so biassed by -the prejudices of his age, that he ascribed the majority of diseases to -the arts of the devil, and found great fault with physicians when they -attempted to account for them by natural causes. England acquired the -bad fame of being the country of witches, and opposed almost insuperable -obstacles to the cultivation of anatomy. Even at present the prejudices -of the people on this subject are violent and deeply-rooted. The measure -of that violence may be estimated by the degree of abhorrence with which -they regard those persons who are employed to procure the subjects -necessary for dissection. In this country there is no other method of -obtaining subjects but that of exhumation: aversion to this employment -may be pardoned: dislike to the persons who engage in it is natural, but -to regard them with detestation, to exult in their punishment, to -determine for themselves its nature and measure, and to endeavour to -assume the power of inflicting it with their own hands, is absurd. -Magistrates have too often fostered the prejudices of the people, and -afforded them the means of executing their vengeance on the objects of -their aversion. The press, with a few honourable exceptions, has -uniformly allied itself with the ignorance and violence of the vulgar, -and has done every thing in its power to inflame the passions which it -was its duty to endeavour to soothe. It is notorious that the winter -before last there was scarcely a week in which many of the papers did -not contain the most exaggerated and disgusting statements: the appetite -which could be gratified with<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_34">{34}</a></span> such representations was sufficiently -degraded: but still more base was the servility which could pander to -it.</p> - -<p>As one among many of the cases which illustrate this bad feeling, we may -refer to that of Samuel Clark who was indicted at the Essex Quarter -Sessions, in January, 1824, for feloniously stealing at Little Leighs, -on the 26th of December, a woman’s shift, a bed-gown, a night-cap, and a -pair of cotton stockings, the property of James Chinnery. It appeared in -evidence, that a young woman the wife of a labouring man named James -Chinnery, had been buried in Little Leighs Church-yard, on Sunday the -21st of December. Previous to her death she expressed a wish to be -interred in a night-cap, shift, bed-gown and cotton stockings, and her -request had been complied with. The body was discovered on the morning -of the 26th, in a ditch near the church-yard. A few rods from this spot -was found a horse yoked to a chaise cart and tied to a tree. It appeared -that “the box under the chaise cart was calculated to hold a couple of -human bodies, when rolled up; and on examining it, a most offensive -odour proceeded from it, as if it had been recently used in the -prisoner’s <i>unhallowed</i> occupation.” The prisoner owned this horse and -cart, and this is the whole of the evidence, at least, as stated in the -report of the trial, which implicated him in the robbery of the grave. -Under these circumstances, the counsel for the prisoner submitted to the -Court that there was no case to go to the jury on three grounds:—first, -that there was no proof of any asportation of the articles alleged to -have been stolen: secondly, that supposing the asportavit made out, the -prisoner could not be convicted of this offence, unless it was manifest -that he had a felonious intention of taking the clothes and converting -them to his own use; and thirdly, that, at all events, there was no -evidence upon which the jury could safely be called upon to act, so as -to implicate him in the alleged offence. The counsel for the prosecution -in answer urged,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_35">{35}</a></span> first, that the finding of the body naked, after proof -that it had been interred in the clothes mentioned in the evidence, was -sufficient proof of asportation: and that even stripping the body -without removing the clothes out of the grave, was, in law, enough to -support the indictment: secondly, that although the primary intention of -the prisoner might be, to steal the body only, yet, if the clothes were -taken, the law would construe them to have been feloniously taken: that -it might as well be said that although a man’s intention might be to -steal a valuable jewel, yet it was no offence to take the casket in -which it was contained: and thirdly, that whether the defendant was the -party to whom guilt was imputed, was a question solely for the -consideration of the jury. On the prisoner’s counsel insisting that his -objections had not been answered, the Chairman overruled the two first -objections, and then summed up the evidence, on which the jury, after -deliberating a few minutes, found the prisoner <i>Guilty</i>. The verdict, it -is recorded, <i>was received by the auditory with a general expression of -pleasure</i>. The Court after animadverting in strong terms on the -<i>abominable</i> offence of which the prisoner had been found guilty, said -they were determined that he should not have an opportunity of pursuing -his <i>odious</i> trade in this country, at least for some years, and -<i>therefore</i> sentenced him to be transported for seven years. The account -of this case is taken from the report of the trial contained in the -Globe and Traveller newspaper of Jan. 20, 1824; a paper honorably -distinguished for its endeavours to enlighten the public mind on this -subject, not to foster its prejudices.</p> - -<p>In this case there was no sufficient evidence to convict the prisoner of -the alleged offence: even if that evidence had been perfectly -satisfactory, the punishment inflicted was unjust: the circumstance -essential to constitute the felony did not exist: the Chairman, with an -ignorant and vulgar mind, stretched the law to gratify ignorant and -vulgar prejudice: he relied<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_36">{36}</a></span> upon the public feeling for protection in -the illegal exertion of his power: he administered the law badly: he -endeavoured to justify his conduct by loading the prisoner with odious -epithets, and he did not miscalculate the feeling of his auditory: they -witnessed the transaction “with a general feeling of pleasure.” This -case exhibits but too faithfully, the spirit often displayed both by the -magistracy and the people.</p> - -<p>Half a century ago there was in Scotland no difficulty in obtaining the -subjects which were necessary to supply the schools of anatomy. The -consequence was, that medicine and surgery suddenly assumed new -life—started from the torpor in which they had been spell-bound—and -made an immediate, and rapid, and brilliant progress. The new seminaries -constantly sent into the world men of the most splendid abilities, at -once demonstrating the excellence of the schools in which they were -educated, and rendering them illustrious. Pupils flocked to them from -all quarters of the globe, and they essentially contributed to that -advancement of science which the present age has witnessed. In the 19th -century the good people of Scotland, that intelligent, that cool and -calculating, that most reasonable and thinking people, have thought -proper to return to the worst feeling and the worst conduct of the -darkest periods of antiquity. There is at present no offence whatever -which seems to have such power to heat and to exalt into a kind of -torrent the blood which usually flows so calmly and sluggishly in the -veins of a Scotchman. The people of 1823 (to compare great things with -small) emulate the spirit of those of their forefathers who “<i>were out -in the forty-five</i>;” the object, to be sure, is somewhat different, but -it is amusing to see the intensity and seriousness of the excitement. -About twelve months ago an honest farmer of the name of Scott, who -resides at Linlithgow, apprehended a poor wight who was pursuing his -vocation, we presume, in the church-yard of that place; and this service -appeared so meritorious to the people<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_37">{37}</a></span> in his neighbourhood, that they -absolutely presented him with a piece of plate. In the winter sessions -of 1822-3, a body was discovered on its way to the lecture-room of an -anatomist in Glasgow, and, in spite of the exertions of the police, -aided by those of the military, this gentleman’s premises and their -contents, which were valuable, were entirely destroyed by the mob. For -some time after this achievement, it was necessary to station a military -guard at the houses of all the medical professors in that city. In the -spring circuit of the justiciary court last year at Stirling, while the -judges were proceeding to the court, the procession was assaulted with -missiles; several persons were injured, and it was necessary to call in -the protection of a military force. The object of the mob was, to -inflict summary punishment on a man who was about to be tried for the -exhumation of a body. We happen to know that the most disgraceful -proceedings were some time ago instituted in that town against a young -gentleman of respectable family and connections, who was in fact -expatriated, and whose prospects in life were entirely changed, if not -ruined, because he had too much honour to implicate his instructors in a -transaction which would have put them to inconvenience, and in which -they had engaged from a desire faithfully to discharge their duty to -their pupils. Within the last five years three men were lodged in the -county gaol at Haddington, charged with a trespass in the church-yard of -that town. So enraged was the mob against them, that an attempt was made -to force the gaol in order to get at them. On their way to the court the -men were again attacked, forced from the carriage, and severely maimed. -After examination they were admitted to bail; but, when set at liberty, -they were assailed with more violence than ever, and were nearly killed. -On the 29th of June, 1823, being Sunday, a most extraordinary outrage -was perpetrated in the streets of Edinburgh. A coach containing an empty -coffin and two men, was observed proceeding<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_38">{38}</a></span> along the south bridge. The -people suspecting that it was intended to convey a body taken from some -church-yard, seized the coach. It was with difficulty that the police -protected the men from the assaults of the populace: the coach they had -no power to preserve. The horses were taken from it, and together with -the coffin, after having been trundled a mile and a half through the -streets of the city, it was deliberately projected over the steep side -of the mound, and smashed into a thousand pieces. The people following -it to the bottom, kindled a fire with its fragments, and surrounded it -like the savages in Robinson Crusoe, till it was entirely consumed. In -this case there was no foundation for their suspicions. The coffin was -intended to have conveyed to his house in Edinburgh the body of a -physician who that morning had died in a cottage in the neighbourhood. A -similar assault was some time ago made on two American gentlemen, who -went to visit the Abbey of Linlithgow after nightfall. The churchyards -of the “gude Scots” are now strictly guarded by men and dogs; -watch-towers are erected within the grounds, and <i>mort-safes</i> as they -are called, that is to say, strong iron frames are deposited in the -ground over the graves. These people sometimes declare that they will -put an end to anatomy, and certainly they are succeeding in the -accomplishment of this menace as rapidly as they can well desire. The -average number of medical students in Edinburgh is 700 each session. For -several years past the difficulty of procuring subjects in that place -has been so great, that out of all that number, not more than 150 or 200 -have ever attempted to dissect; and even these have latterly been so -opposed in their endeavours to prosecute their studies that many of them -have left the place in disgust. We have been informed by a friend, that -he alone was personally acquainted with twenty individuals who retired -from it at the beginning of last session, and who went to pursue their -studies at Dublin, and we know that vast numbers followed their example<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_39">{39}</a></span> -at the end of the winter course. The medical school at Edinburgh, in -fact, is now subsisting entirely on its past reputation; in the course -of a few years it will certainly be at an end, unless the system be -changed. Let those who have the prosperity of the university at heart, -and who have the power to protect it, consider this before it be too -late: they may be assured it is no idle prediction; for we give them -notice that it is at this moment the universal opinion and the current -language of every well-informed medical man in England.</p> - -<p>An excellent system of anatomical plates, which has been well received -by the profession, has lately been published by Mr. Lizars, a lecturer -on anatomy and physiology, in Edinburgh. This gentleman states that he -has been induced to undertake the work, in order to obviate the most -fatal consequences to the public; as far, at least, as a reference to -art, instead of nature is capable of obviating those consequences. He -affirms, that the difficulty of obtaining instruction from nature has -risen to such a pitch, owing to the extraordinary severity exercised by -the legal authorities of the kingdom against persons employed in -procuring subjects for dissection, as to threaten the ultimate -destruction of medical and anatomical science. In his preface to the -second part of his work, he apologizes to his readers for dividing one -portion of it from another, with which it ought to have been connected; -but states that he has been compelled to do so from the prejudices of -the place, which prevented him for upwards of five months, from -procuring a subject from which he might make his drawings. “In place of -living,” he says, “in a civilized and enlightened period, we appear as -if we had been thrown back some centuries into the dark ages of -ignorance, bigotry, and superstition. Prejudices, worthy only of the -multitude, have been conjured up and appealed to, in order to call forth -popular indignation against those whose business it is to exhibit<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_40">{40}</a></span> -demonstratively the structure of the human body, and the functions of -its different organs. The public journals, from a vicious propensity to -pander to the vulgar appetite for excitement, have raked up and -industriously circulated stories of the exhumation of dead bodies, -tending to exasperate and inflame the passions of the mob; and persons, -who, by their own showing, are friendly to the interests of science, -have, in the excess of their zeal that bodies should remain undisturbed -in their progress to decomposition, laboured to destroy in this country, -that art, whose province it is, to free living bodies from the -consequences inseparable from accident and disease. And, which is worst -of all, the prejudices of the multitude have been confirmed and rendered -inveterate by the proceedings in our courts of justice, which have -visited with the punishment due only to felons, the unhappy persons -necessarily employed in the present state of the law, in procuring -subjects for the dissecting-room.”</p> - -<p>He then goes on to state that, until anatomy be publicly sanctioned in -Edinburgh, the school of medicine there can never flourish; that, upon -the present system, young men obtain a degree or a diploma after a year -or two of grinding, that is, of learning by rote the answers to the -questions which the examiners are in the habit of putting to the -candidates; that ignorant of the very elements of their profession -numbers of persons thus educated annually go to the East and West -Indies, and to the army and navy, where they have the charge of hundreds -of their suffering fellow creatures, to whom they are in fact the -instruments of cruelty and murder. In the preface to the 4th Part, he -adds, that when Part II. was published, in the early part of the -session, he took occasion to express his sorrow for the degraded state -of his profession, and the threatened ruin of the Medical School of his -native place, owing to the scarcity of subjects: that, for doing this, -he has incurred considerable censure; that he regrets that he has yet -found no reason to alter<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_41">{41}</a></span> his opinion, for the winter session is now -near its conclusion, and, he candidly declares, that such has been the -scarcity of material, that <i>no teacher of anatomy or surgery has been -able either to follow the regular plan of his course, or to do his duty -to his pupils</i>; the consequence of which has been, that many of the -students have left the school in disgust, and gone either to Dublin or -Paris; while a still greater number, deprived of the means of -dissecting, have contented themselves with lectures or theories, and -with grinding; and entered on the practice of their profession ignorant -of its fundamental principles.</p> - -<p>Much of this opposition on the part of the people arises from the -present mode of procuring subjects. Fortunately, there is in Great -Britain no custom, no superstition, no law, and we may add, no prejudice -against anatomy itself. There is even a general conviction of its -necessity; there may be a feeling that it is a repulsive employment, but -it is commonly acknowledged that it must not be neglected. The -opposition which is made, is made not against anatomy, but against the -practice of exhumation: and this is a practice which ought to be -opposed. It is in the highest degree revolting; it would be disgraceful -to a horde of savages; every feeling of the human heart rises up against -it: so long as no other means of procuring bodies for dissection are -provided, it must be tolerated; but, in itself, it is alike odious to -the ignorant and the enlightened, to the most uncultivated and the most -refined.</p> - -<p>But the capital objection to this practice is, that it necessarily -creates a crime, and educates a race of criminals. Exhumation is -forbidden by the law. It is, indeed, prohibited by no statute, either in -England or in Scotland: in both it is an offence punishable at common -law. There is a statute of James the First, which makes it felony to -steal a dead body for the purpose of witchcraft; there is none against -taking a body for the purpose of dissection. In the case of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_42">{42}</a></span> King -against Lynn (1788), the Court decided that the body being taken for the -latter purpose, did not make it less an indictable offence; and that it -is without doubt cognizable in a criminal court, because it is an act -“highly indecent; at the bare idea of which nature revolts.” It is -punishable, therefore, by fine or imprisonment, or both: in Scotland it -is also punishable by whipping, and even by transportation.</p> - -<p>We expected better things of America. We cannot express our astonishment -and indignation, when we found that the state of New York has actually -made it felony to remove a dead body from the place of sepulture for the -purpose of dissection, without providing in any other mode for the -schools of anatomy. This is worse than any thing that exists in any -other part of the world. If these pages should meet the eye of any of -our American brethren, we intreat them to read with attention, the facts -which have been stated in the former part of this pamphlet, and to -consider with seriousness the mischief they are doing. It will not be -believed in England, that such scenes can have been witnessed in -America, as were actually exhibited there scarcely a month ago. To -satisfy our readers, however, that we do not misrepresent the state of -things in that country, we transcribe the following accounts from <i>The -New York Evening Post</i>, of <i>May</i> 20th:—“At the late Court of Sessions, -Solomon Parmeli was indicted for a misdemeanor, in entering Potter’s -Field, and removing the covers of two coffins deposited in a pit, and -covered partly with earth. <i>The statute of this state making it a -felony, to dig up or remove a dead human body with intent to dissect -it</i>, did not embrace this case; because the prisoner had not dug up or -removed the body. Mr. Schureman, the present keeper of Potter’s Field, -suspected that some person had entered it for the purpose of removing -the dead; and, after sending for two watchmen, and calling his faithful -dog, he went to ascertain the fact. On arriving at the grave, he found -his suspicion con<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_43">{43}</a></span>firmed; and requested the person concealed in the pit, -to come out and show himself: no answer being given, Mr. Schureman sent -his dog into the pit, and in the twinkling of an eye a tall stout fellow -made his appearance, and took to his heels across the field. The night -being dark, he might have effected his escape had it not been for the -sagacity and courage of the dog, who pursued him for some distance; but -at last came up with him, seized and held him fast until the arrival of -Mr. Schureman and the watchmen who secured him. The jury convicted the -prisoner, and the Court sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment in the -Penitentiary. <i>The young gentlemen attending the Medical School of this -city will take warning by this man’s fate. They may rest assured, that -the keeper of Potter’s Field will do his duty, and public justice will -he executed on any man, whatever may be his condition in life, who is -found violating the law, and the decency of christian burial!</i>” The same -paper gives the following account of a transaction, which took place at -Hartford, in Connecticut, May 17. “Yesterday morning, two ladies were -taking a walk in the South burying ground, when they discovered a -tape-string, and a piece of cloth, which upon examination was found to -be the piece that was laced upon Miss Jane Benton’s face, who came to -her death by drowning, and was buried a few days since. The ladies then -went to the grave, and found that it had been disturbed—that she was -taken out of her coffin, and a rope around her neck. The circumstance -has produced great excitement in the public mind; and every one is on -the alert to discover the perpetrators of this unfeeling, brutal act. -<i>The citizens turned out in a body yesterday, and interred the corpse -again.</i>”</p> - -<p>These scenes are highly disgraceful, and disgraceful to all, though not -<i>alike</i> to all, parties. We do not blame the Americans for abolishing -the practice of exhumation; but we blame them for stopping there.<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_44">{44}</a></span> We -maintain, that it is both absurd and criminal, to make this practice -felony, without providing in some other method for the cultivation of -anatomy.</p> - -<p>In Great Britain, the law against the practice of exhumation is not -allowed to slumber. There may be other cases which have not come to our -knowledge; but we have ascertained that there have been 14 convictions -for England alone during the last year. The punishments inflicted have -been imprisonment for various periods, with fines of different sums. The -fines in general are heavy, considering the poverty of the offenders. -Several persons are, at this moment, suffering these penalties; among -others, there is now in the gaol of St. Albans, a man who was sentenced -for this offence to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of £.20. The -period of his confinement has expired some time; but he still remains in -prison, on account of his inability to pay the fine. Since the passing -of the new Vagrant Act, it has been the common practice to commit these -offenders to hard labour for various periods. Very lately, two men, -convicted of this offence, were sent to the Tread-Mill, in Cold Bath -Fields; one of whom died in one month after his commitment. It is an -error to suppose that these punishments operate to prevent exhumation; -their only effect is to raise the price of subjects: a little reflection -will show that they can have no other operation. At present, exhumation -is the only method by which subjects for dissection can be procured; but -subjects for this purpose must be procured; and be the difficulties what -they may, will be procured: diseases will occur, operations must be -performed, medical men must be educated, anatomy must be studied, -dissections must go on. Unless some other means for affording a supply -be adopted; whatever be the law or the popular feeling, neither -magistrates, nor judges, nor juries, will, or can put an entire stop to -the practice. It is one which, from the absolute<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_45">{45}</a></span> necessity of the case, -must be allowed. What is the consequence? So long as the practice of -exhumation continues, a race of men must be trained up to violate the -law. These men must go out in company for the purpose of nightly -plunder, and plunder of the most odious kind, tending in a peculiar and -most alarming measure to brutify the mind, and to eradicate every -feeling and sentiment worthy of a man. This employment becomes a school -in which men are trained for the commission of the most daring and -inhuman crimes. Its operation is similar, but much worse than the -nightly banding to violate the game laws, because there is something in -the violation of the grave, which tends still more to degrade the -character and to harden the heart. This offence is connived at, nay, it -is rewarded; these men are absolutely paid to violate the law; and paid -by men of reputation and influence in society. The transition is but too -easy to the commission of other offences in the hope of similar -connivance, if not of similar reward.</p> - -<p>It is an odious thing that the teachers of anatomy should be brought -into contact with such men: that they should be obliged to employ them, -and that they should even be in their power; which they are to such a -degree, that they are obliged to bear with the wantonness of their -tyranny and insult. All the clamour against these men, all the -punishment inflicted on them, only operate to raise the premium on the -repetition of their offence. This premium the teachers of anatomy are -obliged to pay, which these men perfectly understand, who do not at all -dislike the opposition which is made to their vocation. It gives them no -unreasonable pretext for exorbitancy in their demands. In general they -are men of infamous character; some of them are thieves, others are the -companions and abettors of thieves. Almost all of them are extremely -destitute. When apprehended for the offence in question, the teachers of -anatomy are<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_46">{46}</a></span> obliged to pay the expenses of the trial, and to support -their families while they are in prison; whence the idea of immunity is -associated, in these men’s minds, with the violation of the law, and -when they do happen to incur its penalties, they practically find that -they and their families are provided for, and this provision comes to -them in the shape of a reward for the commission of their offence. The -operation of such a system on the minds of the individuals themselves is -exceedingly pernicious, and is not a little dangerous to the community.</p> - -<p>Moreover, by the method of exhumation, the supply after all is scanty; -it is never adequate to the wants of the schools; it is of necessity -precarious, and it sometimes fails altogether for several months. But it -is of the utmost importance that it should be abundant, regular, and -cheap. The number of young men who come annually to London for the -purpose of studying medicine and surgery, may be about a thousand. Their -expenses are necessarily very considerable while in town; they have -already paid a large sum for their apprenticeship in the country; the -circumstances of country practitioners, in general, can but ill afford -protracted expenses for their sons in London; few of them stay a month -longer than the time prescribed by the College of Surgeons. But the -short period they spend in London is the only time they have for -acquiring the knowledge of their profession. If they mis-spend these -precious hours, or if the means of employing them properly be denied -them, they must necessarily remain ignorant for life. After they leave -London they have no means of dissecting. We have seen that it is by -dissecting alone, that they can make themselves acquainted even with the -principles of their art; that without it they cannot so much as avail -themselves of the opportunities of improvement, which experience itself -may offer, nor, without the highest temerity, perform a single -operation. We have seen that occasions suddenly occur, which<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_47">{47}</a></span> require -the prompt performance of important and difficult operations; we have -seen that, unless such operations are performed immediately, and with -the utmost skill, life is inevitably lost. In many such cases there is -no time to send for other assistance. If a country practitioner (and -most of these young men go to the country) be not himself capable of -doing what is proper to be done, the death of the patient is certain. We -put it to the reader to imagine what the feelings of an ingenuous young -man must be, who is aware of what he ought to do, but who is conscious -that his knowledge is not sufficient to authorise him to attempt to -perform it, and who sees his patient die before him, when he knows that -he might be saved and that it would have been in his own power to save -him, had he been properly educated. We put it to the reader to conceive -what his own sensations would be, were an ignorant surgeon, with a -rashness more fatal than the criminal modesty of the former, to -undertake an important operation. Suppose it were a tumour, which turned -out to be an aneurism; suppose it were a hernia, in operating on which -the epigastric artery were divided, or the intestine itself wounded; -suppose it were his mother, his wife, his sister, his child, whom he -thus saw perish before his eyes, what would the reader then think of the -prejudice which withholds from the surgeon that information without -which the practice of his profession is murder?</p> - -<p>The study of anatomy is a severe and laborious study; the practice of -dissection is on many accounts highly repulsive: it is even not without -danger to life itself.<a id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> To men of clear understandings, to those -especially of a philosophical turn of mind, the pursuit is its own -reward; they are so fully satisfied that the more it is cultivated the -more satisfaction it will afford, that they need no stimulus to induce -them to undergo the drudgery. But this is by no means the case with<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_48">{48}</a></span> -ordinary minds. The fatigue and disgust of the dissecting-room are -appalling to them, and they need the stimulus of necessity to urge them -to the task. The court of examiners of the College of Surgeons requires -from the candidates for surgical diplomas certificates that they have -gone through at least two courses of dissections; the examiners at -Apothecaries’-hall do not require such certificates. The consequence is, -that many young men content themselves with attending lectures, and with -passing their examinations at Apothecaries’-hall, and do not apply for a -diploma at the College of Surgeons. This single fact is sufficient to -demonstrate to the public that, instead of throwing obstacles in the way -of dissection, it is a duty which they owe to themselves to afford every -possible facility to its practice, and to hold out to every member of -the profession, the most powerful inducements to engage in it, by -rewarding with confidence those who cultivate anatomy, by making -excellence in anatomy indispensable to all offices in dispensaries and -hospitals, and by thus rendering it impossible for any one who is -ignorant of anatomy, to obtain rank in his profession. When a candidate -presents himself for a diploma in Denmark, in his first trial he is put -into a room with a subject, a case of instruments, and a memorandum, and -informed that he is to display the anatomy of the face and neck, or that -of the upper extremity or that of the lower extremity: that by the -anatomy is to be understood, the blood-vessels, nerves and muscles; and -that as soon as he has accomplished his task, the professors will attend -his summons to judge of his attainments. These professors are the true -examiners!</p> - -<p>We shall have entered into the discussion of this subject to little -purpose, if we have not produced in the minds of our readers a deep -conviction, that anatomy ought to form an essential part of medical -education; that anatomy cannot be studied without the practice of -dissection; that dissection cannot be practised without<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_49">{49}</a></span> a supply of -subjects, and that the manner in which that supply is obtained in -England is detestable and ought immediately to be changed.</p> - -<p>The plan we would propose to substitute is the following:—</p> - -<p>1. That the bodies of those persons who die in all infirmaries and -hospitals throughout the kingdom, <i>unclaimed by immediate relatives</i>, be -appropriated to the purpose of anatomy.</p> - -<p>2. That the bodies of those persons who die in all work-houses and -poor-houses be appropriated to the same purpose.</p> - -<p>3. That the bodies of those persons who die in all houses of correction, -in all prisons, and in the hulks, be thus appropriated.</p> - -<p>An objection may be anticipated to such an appropriation of the bodies -of those who die in infirmaries and hospitals. And it is admitted, that -in the present state of public feeling it would not be right thus to -appropriate the bodies of <i>all</i> who die in those public charities. But -this is not proposed: what is proposed is to appropriate to this use the -bodies of those <small>ONLY</small> <i>who die unclaimed by immediate relatives</i>. No -reasonable objection can be urged to this measure thus guarded. No one -who has not inquired into the subject can have any conception of the -number of persons who die in the public hospitals in London, unvisited -by friends during life, unclaimed by them after death. Surely to devote -to this use the bodies of those who die under such circumstances can -inflict no wound on any private individual—can violate no public right. -Still there is one objection to the measure which is specious but not -solid. It is urged that it might be the means of deterring this class of -persons from entering the hospitals. The answer to this objection is -complete, because it is an answer derived from experience. The measure -has been actually adopted, and found in practice to be unattended with -this result: it was tried in Edinburgh<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_50">{50}</a></span> and the hospital was as full as -it is at present: it is universally acted on in France, and the -hospitals are always crowded.</p> - -<p>It has been stated that this plan has been tried in Edinburgh, and that -experience has proved its efficacy. It was, in fact, adopted in that -city with perfect success more than a century ago. In the Council -Register for 1694, it is recorded that all unclaimed dead bodies in the -charitable institutions or in the streets, were given for dissection to -the College of Surgeons, to one or two of its individual members, and to -the professor of anatomy. This regulation, at that period, excited no -opposition on the part of the people, but effectually answered the -desired object. All the medical schools on the continent are supplied -with subjects, by public authority, in a similar manner. The following -account of the mode in which those of Paris in particular are supplied, -has been obtained from the gentleman who is at the head of the -anatomical department in that city. It is stated; 1. That the faculty of -medicine at Paris is authorized to take from the civil hospitals, from -the prisons, and from dépôts of mendicity, the bodies which are -necessary for teaching anatomy. 2. That a gratuity of eight-pence is -given to the attendants in the hospitals for each body. 3. That upon the -foundation by the National Convention, of schools of health, the -statutes of their foundation declare, that the subjects necessary for -the schools of anatomy shall be taken from the hospitals, and that since -this period, the council of hospitals, and the prefect of police, have -always permitted the practice. 4. That M. Breschet, chief of the -anatomical department of the faculty of Paris, sends a carriage daily to -the different hospitals, which brings back the necessary number of -bodies: that this number has sometimes amounted to 2,000 per annum, for -the faculty only, without reckoning those used in L’Hôpital de la Pitié, -but that since the general attention which has recently been bestowed -upon pathologic<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_51">{51}</a></span> anatomy, numbers of bodies are opened in the civil and -military hospitals, and that the faculty seldom obtain more than 1,000 -or 1,200. 5. That, besides the dissections by the faculty of medicine, -and those pursued in L’Hôpital de la Pitié, theatres of anatomy are -opened in all the great hospitals, for the pupils of those -establishments: that in these institutions anatomy is carefully taught, -and that pupils have all the facilities for dissection that can be -desired. 6. That the price of a body varies from four shillings to eight -shillings and sixpence. 7. That after dissection, the bodies are wrapt -in cloths, and carried to the neighbouring cemetery, where they are -received for ten-pence. 8. That the practice of exhumation is abolished: -that there are insurmountable obstacles to the return to that system, -and that bodies are never taken from burial grounds, without an order -for exhumation, which is given only when the tribunals require it for -the purpose of medico-legal investigations. 9. That though the people -have an aversion to the operations of dissection, yet they never make -any opposition to them, provided respect be paid to the laws of decency -and salubrity, on account of the deep conviction that prevails of their -utility. 10. That the relatives of the deceased seldom or never oppose -the opening of any body, if the physicians desire it. That all the -medical students in France, with scarcely any exception, dissect, and -that that physician or surgeon who is not acquainted with anatomy, is -universally regarded as the most ignorant of men.</p> - -<p>To the other parts of the plan proposed above for supplying the -anatomical schools in Great Britain, there appears to be no objections -whatever. No one can object to such a disposal of the bodies of those -who die in prisons; no one can reasonably object to such a disposal of -the bodies of those who die in poor-houses. These persons are pensioners -upon the public bounty: they owe the public a debt: they have been -supported by the public during life; if, therefore, after<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_52">{52}</a></span> death they -can be made useful to the public, it is a prejudice, not a reason—it is -an act of injustice, not the observance of a duty, which would prevent -them from becoming so. It is true that many of these persons are honest -and respectable; and have been reduced to indigence by misfortune: were -they all so it would not alter the state of the argument. Some -concession and co-operation on the part of the public, for this great -public object, is indispensable, without which nothing can be done: but -if any concession be made, it can be made with respect to this class of -persons better than any other, because it can be made with less -violation of public feeling. Nor is any indignity either intended or -offered to these persons. They are appropriated to this service not -because they are poor, but because they are friendless: because, that -is, no persons survive them who take such an interest in their fate as -to be rendered unhappy by this disposal of their remains. That they are -without friends is no good reason why their memory should be treated -with indignity; but it is a good reason, it is the best possible reason -why they should be selected for this public service. Poverty, it is -true, is a misfortune: poverty, it is true, has terror and pain enough -in itself: no legislature ought by any act to increase its wretchedness; -but the measure here proposed is pregnant with good to the poor, and -would tend more than can be estimated to lessen the misery of their -condition. For it would give knowledge to the lowest practitioners of -the medical art; that is, to the persons who are at present lamentably -deficient, and into whose hands the great bulk of the poor fall. And, -after all, the true question is, whether the surgeon shall be allowed to -gain knowledge by operating on the bodies of the dead, or driven to -obtain it by practising on the bodies of the living. If the dead bodies -of the poor are not appropriated to this use, their living bodies must -be—and will be. The rich will always have it in their power to select, -for the performance of an operation,<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_53">{53}</a></span> the surgeon who has signalized -himself by success: but that surgeon, if he have not obtained the -dexterity which ensures success, by dissecting and operating on the -dead, must have acquired it by making experiments on the living bodies -of the poor. There is no other means by which he can possibly have -gained the necessary information. Every such surgeon who has attained -deserved eminence, must have risen to it through the suffering which he -has inflicted, and the death which he has brought upon hundreds of the -poor. What would be the immediate and constant effect of an abolition of -the practice of dissecting the dead? It would be to convert poor-houses -and public hospitals into so many schools where the surgeons, by -practising on the living bodies of the poor, would learn to operate on -those of the rich with safety and dexterity. Thus the poor would be -tortured, and many of them would be put to death in order that the rich -might be saved from pain and danger. This would be the certain and -inevitable result—this would indeed be to treat this class of the -people with real indignity and horrible injustice, and proves how -possible it is to show an apparent consideration for the poor, and yet -practically to abuse them in the most cruel manner.</p> - -<p>The plan now proposed for remedying the evils which have been stated -would accomplish the object easily and completely: it would inflict no -injury on any private individual: it would do no violence to the public -feeling: it would render the dread of anatomy, as far as that dread were -really operative, directly beneficial to the community: it would -terminate at once the evils of the present system: it would put an end -to the education of daring and desperate violators of the law: it would -tranquillize the public mind: the dead would rest undisturbed: the -sepulchre would be sacred, and all the horrors which the imagination -connects with its violation would cease for ever.</p> - -<p>We submit these observations to the calm and serious consideration of -our countrymen. We address<span class="pagenum"><a id="page_54">{54}</a></span> them especially to the members of our -legislature. Upon the attention of the latter we would particularly urge -this further consideration, the importance of which they well know how -to estimate. In consequence of the difficulty of procuring subjects in -England, every medical student in Great Britain who can possibly afford -the time now goes to Paris to perfect himself in anatomy. Accordingly -the number of English students in Paris is already immense: that number -increases rapidly every year: it increases by the desertion of the -schools in Edinburgh and London. The consequence is obvious, and will be -surely and deeply felt in a few years. Anatomy will be neglected in -England, and for this indispensable branch of knowledge England will -become entirely dependent on France. There cannot be a doubt that there -is good sense enough among the people of England to submit to whatever -regulations may be necessary to prevent evils so serious and so fatal, -provided such regulations are framed in a proper spirit, and observed -with a due regard to decorum, and it is certain that those persons who -co-operate to establish these regulations will ultimately receive, as -they will deserve, the gratitude of their country.</p> - -<p class="fint">FINIS.</p> - -<p class="fint2">T. C. Hansard, Pater-noster-row Press.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> A winter never passes without proving fatal to several -students who die from injuries received in dissection.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full"> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BODY-SNATCHING ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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