33

now afforded, when you embark inthe duties of life, and are placedon your own meagre resources,

you will repent too late your indo-lence and indiscretion. You mayimagine, that if you commit some

gross blunders in one neighbour-hood you can remove into another,and thus shield yourself from theodium which would attach to yourcharacter. But you will always carrythat monitor within which will forever torment and condemn you.By a repetition of your ignoranttreatment you may be hurled beforethe tribunal of your country, by thesuffering victims of your wilful

neglect, and there have your dis-grace publicly and eternally sealed.But I can assure you, gentlemen,that by adopting an opposite course,by devoting even a moderate por-tion of your time to the profession,by acquiring a habit of observationand of recording in your memorywhat you observe, you will not onlybe enabled to acquit yourselveswith credit, but to acquire, as timerolls on, fresh accessions to yourreputation.To afford you every facility for

profiting by the institution con-

nected with this school, my col-leagues and myself will, in additionto the regular course, give duringthe week some clinical lectures on

important subjects, illustrated fromcases taken from the wards of these

Hospitals. Mr. KEY will give hislecture on Thursdays, at 12 o’clock,and I shall give a clinical lectureon Tuesdays, at the same hour.We shall also, in going round theHospitals address some observa-tions to you, illustrative of the prac-tice adopted in particular cases.

I should in addition recommend youto take notes of interesting cases,and observe correctly the changesthat may take place.

I believe I have now embracedthe various subjects which willadmit of notice in an introductorylecture, and, before concluding, Icannot but announce to you withregret, that we are no longer to befavoured with the excellent surgi-cal lectures of Sir ASTLEyCOOPER.He possessed all the necessary andornamental acquirements of a sci-entific surgeon, his talent for obser-vation, his immense opportunities,his readiness of communication,and his interesting manner of doingso, joined to his extensive prac-tical knowledge, rendered him anan invaluable acquisition to thisschool of surgical science. Hisabsence, I fear, has left an " hia-tus non valde repletus." But Ican only, on the part of my wor-thy colleagues and myself, assureyou, that no exertion or inclinationwill be found wanting on our parts,to replace as usefully, if not so

brilliantly, the losses we have sus...tained.

MR. HEADINGTON.

Theatre of Anatomy, London

Hospital, Wednesday Evening,Oct. 6.

At eight o’clock Mr. HEADING-TON made his appearance, and im-

mediately proceeded to read the

following address ; the theatre wasthinly attended, and altogether ithad a very gloomy aspect.

GENTLEMEN,It being my intention to deliver,

in the ensuing winter, a course ofsurgical lectures, I shall, in this

evenin address, point out to you

34

the mode I intend to pursue in thecompletion of my undertaking.Before doing this I will give you abrief history of the surgical science,contrast its condition among the

ancients with its present advancedstate of improvement, and pointout to you how it may be broughtto a nearer degree of perfection.We see by the writings of the

ancients that the study of medicineincluded that of surgery also; sowonderful was the healing art con-sidered that aeSCULAPIUS rankedamong the demigods of antiquity.Surgery in its original and very im-perfect state was confined to the

employment of externals, the bene-fit arising from the application wasregistered, and the written case

then carefully deposited in the

temple in the island of Cos. Amongthe Egyptians, at a very early pe-riod, surgery had made a progresswhich, considering its benightedstate in the subsequent centuries,is really surprising-the Egyptianswere the first who performed theprocess of embalming, and theysubjected their deceased patriarchsto this ceremonv.

The most ancient work on medi-cine is from the pen of aeSCULA-nus; it appears to contain a per-fect history of the state of medicinein his time ; it contains no accountof anatomy; this is easily explained,

as at that period it had not beenstudied. HIPPOCRATES was thenext writer, and whose descriptionscf many diseases were so accuratethat they have not been alteredeven to the present day. After himwe have the works of GALEN,and until this celebrated man flou-rished, it is pretty obvious that

surgery had made but very slowmovements towards advancement.GALEN was born at Pargamusand first taught surgery about thf £

year 160 of the Christian era, atAlexandria in Egypt. Such beingthe case, we should expect thatsurgery, from that epoch, wouldhave made rapid advances ; this,however, was not the fact. CELS uswas the next who wrote, but whe-ther he deserves the name of sur-geon may be questioned, as it doesnot appear he ever practised sur-

gery ; CELSUS, however, is muchvalued for the elegance and purityof his style, which led to manysolid improvements in our art. Thefirst school of medicine establishedin Europe was by the Greeks inthe island of Sicily; others immediately sprang up in various partsof Italy; thus the emulation ex-cited by these numerous rivalries,caused chirurgical knowledge to

rapidlyincrease,and to be extensive-ly diffused. The study of anatomyalso, at the same period, was cul-tivated, though more, it is believed,with a view to assist the art of sculp-

ture than the science of medicine.In the 16th century surgery madeextraordinary progress, and the; names of several surgeons wholived at that time, are celebratedeven in the present day. The

healing art was long confined tothe ecclesiastics of the cloisters,and only a very trifling portion ofit possessed or practised by lay-men. The writings of GALENwere by these individuals strictlyattended to. The reason of the

practice of medicine having beenconfined to the ecclesiastics was

occasioned by their being the onlypersons, or nearly so, whose educadtion enabled them to understandthe medical authors. N otwith-

standing they embraced the wholerange of medical practice, the

physicians did not operate, but

would only direct the operationto be performed, the surgeon being

35

his subordinate agent. The mostancient department of the healingart thus fell below its just level,and remained degraded for a con-siderable period, till, at length, asadvanced knowledge became moregenerally extended, a greater num-ber of individuals entered on the

study of medicine; society saw

the advantages which must ariseby affording encouragement to themedical practitioners, and thus ourscience rapidly progressed. The

study of anatomy was likewise

prosecuted with considerable zeal;those who promoted it rightlyjudged, that he who is best ac-

quainted with the structure andfunctions of the human body, in astate of health, must be the bestcapable of detecting and curing C) dis-ease. Surgery,however, did not holda very prominent station, until afterthe exertions of the French surgeonsin the reign of Louis XIV.; that reignwas a busy scene of warfare, whichis always favourable to the advance..ment of surgery. Louis also af-forded to the surgeons of his dayconsiderable patronage. It is with-in the last fifty years, however,that the most important surgicaldiscoveries and improvements havebeen made. The human mindduring this period has been strong-ly stimulated to exert itself- and ifthere be no powerful causes to ex-cite it to action, it sinks into apa-thy and indifference; the most com-mon exciting causes of the humanmind, and probably the most in- ’

fluential, are, love of fame or am- Ibition, and self-interest ; the first Iis generally brilliant in its course, Iand leads to deeds of greatness ; itis the patrimony of the statesman ;the operations of self-interest areless splendid and confined to a nar-rower sphere ; the two properlyblended is a happy union; it

creates activity, which is generallyanswered by commensurate profit;indeed, exertion and reward are

generally united. When a surgeonpays little or no attention to theduties of his profession, he mustsoon sink into ruin and neglect,; especially at such a time as the

present ; when there is such an ex-tensive rivalry, the ill-informed canhave no prospect of success. It isin consequence of the great oppo-sition, which has of late years givenrise to so many improvements, andwhich has so particularly prompted a

the assiduous study of anatomy, thatthe diligence of both practitionersand students of the present dayexceeds that of any former period.In minute anatomv, the Germansat this time are highly and meri-toriously conspicuous.

i To the name of lVVIoRGnGm theprofession is much indebted, andparticularly for morbid, as well asgeneral anatomy ; of the latterhe was the first to convert a shape-less mass into some order and ar-

rangement. To the morbid anatomyof this distinguished man is the

pathology of surgery much indebted.The movements of the animal ma-

I chine are so various, and its struc-ture so complicated, without an ac-curate investigation of the machineitself, it is impossible they can everbe understood. Having taken arapid glance of the former state ofsurgery, compared with its presentimprovements, I will now proceedto describe to you those qualifica-tions which it is of the utmost

consequence a surgeon should pos-sess ; these we find mentioned inthe most select writings of anti-quity : a surgeon should have a

keen eye, a steady hand, andpromptitude of mind. An unfeel-

ing heart, harshness of character,or insensibility to human suffering,

36

should form no part of a surgeon’scomposition. Habit sometimes doesgive rise to want of feeling forthe miseries of others, but it is al-ways to be regretted. A knowledgeof your profession implies and re- I,quires a liberal education-in the ’,explanation of the mental requi-sites for a physician and surgeon,the principle has been laid down-that a classical education is neces-sary for the one, and not the other-that the physician’s acquaintancewith language ought to be more ex-

. tensive than that of the surgeon, is a

position the justness of which I thinkmay be controverted ; for example-many of the writers of antiquityare remarkable for the chasteness oftheir compositions-the purity oftheir style. What! is not the lan-guage of surgery, because it is therecord of facts, to be dressed in thecharms of the graces ?-look at theworks of Mr. POTT, and see thecelebrity that he obtained in con-sequence of his talents as a writer;

Ihe has the power of fascinating his Ireaders, of attracting their atten-

tion, and carrying them throughhis pages to any length ; this factis alone sufficient to prove the con-verse of the principle just laid down;there are, however, additional rea-sons ; many valuable works are

written entirely in the Greek andLatin languages, and if you cannotread them you must trust to a dele-

gate, a translator, for an accountof what they contain ; and in

translations, to say nothing of in-accuracies, the spirit of the originalcomposition is seldom maintained.There is no language so copiousas the Greek, or so remarkable forthe flexibility of its idiom ; many ofthe names used in anatomy beingderived from this language, andfrom the Latin, that student whois acquainted with these will be

the most apt at getting a know-ledge of them; there are other lan-guages which are more ornamentalthan useful.The most material qualification,

however, necessary to the surgeon,is a thorough acquaintance withthe structure of the human body;or, in other words, a knowledge ofanatomy. Some say, that minuteanatomy is not requisite to a sur-

geon’s information -but, arisingfrom this deficiency, I can withtruth affirm, that errors of a mostserious nature often ensue, not

only in operating, but in thediagnosis of disease.The chemists of the present day

have added considerably to our

stock of knowledge, particularly inthe physiological department-chemistry, therefore, you will find

worthy of a portion of your at-

tention. As surgery includes an

extensive range of diseases requir-ing medical treatment, though notso much so as that allotted to the

office of the physician ; yet as theystill are numerous, you should cul-tivate pharmaceutical information ;for many complaints demand a

medical treatment at once boldand prompt.

[Mr. H. here explained to the

students, the order in which heshould lecture on the different dis-eases during the course; and thathe should not be regulated by theancient surgical divisions of syn-tlaesis, diorthrosis, and exael.esis.]You must consider these lectures

merely elementary ; and observefor yourselves at the bed-sides ofpatients. You should take notesof cases, and carefully watch allthe peculiarities of disease.

I have been induced to under-take these lectures, gentlemen,from its having been represented tome that they will prove of much

37

advantage to the students attend-ing this hospital; should I beconsidered occasionally to enter

too minutely into matters of an ap-parently unimportant nature, youwill hereafter find that such thingsought not to be omitted; indeed,things of this kind require a morefrequent repetition than circum-stances of greater difficulty, forwhere the mind is capable of per-ceiving a thing at the first glancethe impression is but transitory ; onthe other hand, where the sub-

ject demands considerable mentallabour ere the obstacle can be sur-

mounted, the effect on the memoryis much more lasting.

I hope, gentlemen, your atten-tion, assiduity, and zeal, will sup-ply any deficiencies that you maydiscover in me.

{TThis address occupied in the

reading no more than thirty mi-nutes, half the time usually devotedto similar occasions. At the con-clusion there was applause.]

DR. ARMSTRONG.

Theatre, Webb St., Maze Pond.

Wednesday Evening, October 6.At a quarter to five o’clock, Dr.

ARMSTRONG arrived at this The-atre, which was thronged by a classpf highly respectable students, bywhom he was received with greatapplause.

GENTLEMEN,The maladies to which the hu-

man body is liable, might be con-veniently divided into two greatClasses the first, comprehending

acute and subacute affections, thesecond, comprehending chronic af-fections.

Acute and subacute affectionsare those which commence quicklyand terminate in a short time;whereas the chronic are thosewhich commence slowly, and whichhave a protracted course. Eachof these classes of affections arisesfrom certain agents, ’ which are

technically termed remote causes,and these have been subdividedinto predisposing, exciting, andproximate. The predisposingcauses are such as produce thetendency or liability to disorder ordisease. The exciting causes are

such as can produce either the onedisease or the other, according asthe person may be predisposed.The proximate cause, according tothe language of the schools, is

nothing more or less than the dis-ease itself; when it is present, thedisease is present; when it changes,the disease changes; and when itremoves, the disease is removed.Now as this can only be the affec-tion itself, I shall in these lecturesnot use the term proximate causeat all, but in its stead I shall sub-stitute pathological condition, todenote that state of parts on whichthe symptoms mainly depend.The remote causes of the first

class are common and peculiar.The peculiar cases are, 1st, ma-laria, or what is commonly termedmarsh effluvia; 2d, other atmo-

spheric infections ; 3d, human con-tagion ; and 4th, animal, vegetable,and mineral poisons. The commoncauses are distinguished from thepeculiar, because they produce nospecific effect, and are only themere ordinary agents of nature.These are also divisible into four

classes-depressants, stimulants, ir-ritants, and interruptants. Depres-