Medical Books

SECT. I. OF MOTION. The whole of nature may be supposed to consist of two essences or substances; one of which may be termed spirit, and the other matter. The former of these possesses the power to commence or produce motion, and the latter to receive and communicate it. So that motion, considered as a cause, immediately precedes every effect; and, considered as an effect, it immediately succeeds every... more...

THE GUIDANCE OF THE BODY THE literature relating to the care of the human body is already very extensive. Much has been written about the body's proper food, the air it should breathe, the clothing by which it should be protected, the best methods of its development. That literature needs but little added to it, until we, as rational beings, come nearer to obeying the laws which it discloses, and... more...

PREFACE. All diseases originate in the exuberance, deficiency, or retrograde action, of the faculties of the sensorium, as their proximate cause; and consist in the disordered motions of the fibres of the body, as the proximate effect of the exertions of those disordered faculties. The sensorium possesses four distinct powers, or faculties, which are occasionally exerted, and produce all the motions of... more...

Drawings and Pharmacy in al-ZahrāwÄ«’s by Sami Hamarneh Probably the earliest independent work in Arabic Spain to embrace the whole of medical knowledge of the time is the encyclopedic al-TasrÄ«f, written in the late 10th century by AbГ…В« al-Qāsim al-ZahrāwÄ«, also known as Abulcasis.... more...

I INTRODUCTION Under the term Old-Time Medicine most people probably think at once of Greek medicine, since that developed in what we have called ancient history, and is farthest away from us in date. As a matter of fact, however, much more is known about Greek medical writers than those of any other period except the last century or two. Our histories of medicine discuss Greek medicine at considerable... more...

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseas’d,Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,Raze out the written troubles of the brain,And with some sweet oblivious antidoteCleanse the stuff’d bosom of that perilous stuffWhich weighs upon the heart? Macbeth. When a man tells me he never worries, I am inclined to think that he is either deceiving himself or trying to deceive me. The great roots of worry are... more...

CHAPTER I Introductory How old is the problem of the Nervous Housewife? Did the semi-mythical Cave Man (who is perhaps only a pseudo-scientific creation) on his return from a prehistoric hunt find his leafy spouse all in tears over her staglocythic house-cleaning, or the conduct of the youngest cave child? Did she complain of her back, did she have a headache every time they disagreed, did she fuss and... more...

Preface Medicine, as the art of preserving and restoring health, is the rightful office of the great army of earnest and qualified American physicians. But their utmost sincerity and science are hampered by trying restrictions with three great classes of people: those on whom the family physician cannot call every day; those on whom he cannot call in time; and those on whom he cannot call at all. To... more...

CHAPTER I In Which Most of Us Plead Guilty to the Charge of "Nerves." NERVOUS FOLK Who's Who Whenever the subject of "nerves" is mentioned most people begin trying to prove an alibi. The man who is nervous and knows that he is nervous, realizes that he needs help, but the man who has as yet felt no lack of stability in himself is quite likely to be impatient with that whole class... more...

INTRODUCTION. IN climbing a mountain, if we know the path and take it as a matter of course, we are free to enjoy the beauties of the surrounding country. If in the same journey we set a stone in the way and recognize our ability to step over it, we do so at once, and save ourselves from tripping or from useless waste of time and thought as to how we might best go round it. There are stones upon stones... more...