C. N. B. Camac
Published: 2016-06-19
Total Pages: 474
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Excerpt from Epoch-Making Contributions to Medicine, Surgery, and the Allied Sciences Being Reprints of Those Communications Which First Conveyed Epoch-Making Observations to the Scientific World Together With Biographical Sketches of the Observers In the mass of scientific literature which appears year after year there occurs, very occasionally, an article which presents the results of experiment or investigation that prove epoch-making. These articles, though recording masterpieces of scientific research, are buried with valueless or ephemeral writings. Certain of my teachers, in presenting a subject at clinics and lectures, had. for the inspection of the students, the article which communicated such observations as first placed the subject upon a sound scientific basis. Subsequently, in my own teaching I followed this custom. There has thus resulted a collection, begun some twelve years ago, of epoch-making articles, a part of which is gathered into the present volume. Upon first thought one is disposed to conclude that to-day such communications would be obsolete and of historic value only, but on reading the articles the fact becomes evident that the work and observations were so thoroughly and accurately done in the first instance that the teaching, practice, and terminology of to-day are either the same as when first communicated or based directly on these foundations. In many instances, subsequent writers have merely paraphrased the statements of the original observers. Indeed, one may go further and say that some of the errors of today are the result of disregarding or misquoting the facts clearly set forth in these original treatises. As an example, Jenner's definite direction regarding the technique of vaccination, if adhered to, would prevent many of the infections and shocking ulcerations seen even in our own day. Again, in Laennce's writings is to be found much that would clear the confusion regarding physical signs which teachers to-day discuss without even referring to the observations of this master-mind. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.