He made all thinking physicians naturalists, and he
lent a dignity to the study of organic life, and re-established a close
union between medicine and the natural sciences. Both in Britain and
Greater Britain, he laid the foundation of the great collections and
museums, particularly those connected with the medical schools. The
Wistar-Horner and the Warren Museums in this country originated with men
greatly influenced by Hunter. He was, moreover, the intellectual father
of that interesting group of men on this side of the Atlantic who, while
practising as physicians, devoted much time and labor to the study of
natural history; such men as Benjamin Smith Barton, David Hossack, Jacob
Bigelow, Richard Harlan, John D. Godman, Samuel George Morton, John
Collins Warren, Samuel L. Mitchill and J. Ailken Meigs. He gave an
immense impetus in Great Britain to the study of morbid anatomy, and
his nephew, Matthew Baillie, published the first important book on the
subject in the English language.
Before the eighteenth century closed practical medicine had made great
advance. Smallpox, though not one of the great scourges like plague
or cholera, was a prevalent and much dreaded disease, and in civilized
countries few reached adult life without an attack.
Pages:
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263