,,use ,,of ,,the ,,dead  ,,to ,,the     
,,living4  ,,from ,,the ,,westminster   
,,review4  ,,albany3  ,,printed ,,by    
,,websters ,,and ,,skinners4  #ahbg4    
,,advertisement4   ,the following pages 
contain an article extracted from the   
,westminster ,review1 an ,english       
periodical of considerable reputation4  
,on its appearance in ,great ,britain1  
it excited great attention2 and1 indeed1
 has been there reprinted in a cheap    
form for general distribution4 ,the     
author 7,dr4 ,,southwood ,,smith7       
deserves the thanks of the community for
 the talents he has displayed1 and the  
lucid and powerful manner in which he   
has investigated the important subject  
under consideration4  ,the editors      
believe that they are discharging a duty
 to the community in presenting it to   
them for perusal and consideration4     
,they will not conceal their wishes1    
that it may have a favorable effect on a
 bill now pending before the            
,legislature4 ,both in a general point  

of view1 as well as with reference to   
the particular institution to be        
benefitted1 the arguments are           
particularly applicable2 nor will an    
enlightened body of men be deterred from
 doing what they may deem their duty by 
the unparalleled impudence of those who 
now cry out against monopoly1 when they 
have risen into importance by monopoly1 
and have1 always1 while it suited their 
views1 been its most persecuting and    
vindictive advocates4  ,it is due to    
truth to state1 that the suggestion of  
the republication of this article1      
originated with a member of the ,senate 
of this state1 and who does not belong  
to the profession4  ,february1 #ahbg4   
,,use ,,of ,,the ,,dead ,,to ,,the      
,,living4  ,,from ,,the ,,westminster   
,,review4       ,an ,appeal to the      
,public and to the ,legislature1 on the 
necessity      of affording ,dead       
,bodies to the ,schools of ,anatomy1 by 
,legislative      ,enactment4 ,by       
,,william ,,mackenzie4 ,glasgow4 #ahbd4 

,every one desires to live as long as he
 can4 ,every one values health above all
 gold and treasure4 ,every one knows    
that as far as his own individual good  
is concerned1 protracted life and a     
frame of body sound and strong1 free    
from the thousand pains that flesh is   
heir to1 are unspeakably more important 
than all other objects1 because life and
 health must be secured before any      
possible result of any possible         
circumstance can be of consequence to   
him4 ,in the improvement of the art     
which has for its object the            
preservation of health and life1 every  
individual is1 therefore1 deeply        
interested4 ,an enlightened physician   
and a skilful surgeon1 are in the daily 
habit of administering to their fellow  
men more real and unquestionable good1  
than is communicated1 or communicable by
 any other class of human beings to     
another4 ,ignorant physicians and       
surgeons are the most deadly enemies of 
the community3 the plague itself is not 

so destructive2 its ravages are at      
distant intervals1 and are accompanied  
with open and alarming notice of its    
purpose and power2 theirs are constant1 
silent1 secret2 and it is while they are
 looked up to as saviours1 with the     
confidence of hope1 that they give speed
 to the progress of disease and         
certainty to the stroke of death4  ,it  
is deeply to be lamented that the       
community1 in general1 are so entirely  
ignorant of all that relates to the art 
and the science of medicine4 ,an        
explanation of the functions of the     
animal economy2 of their most common and
 important deviations from the healthy  
state2 of the remedies best adapted to  
restore them to a sound condition1 and  
of the mode in which they operate1 as   
far as that is known1 ought to form a   
part of every course of liberal         
education4 ,the profound ignorance of   
the people on all these subjects1 is    
attended with many disadvantages to     
themselves1 and operates unfavorably on 

the medical character4 ,in consequence  
of this want of information1 persons    
neither know what are the attainments of
 the man in whose hands they place their
 life1 nor what they ought to be2 they  
can neither form an opinion of the      
course of education which it is         
incumbent on him to follow1 nor judge of
 the success with which he has availed  
himself of the means of knowledge which 
have been afforded him4 ,there is one   
branch of medical education in          
particular1 the foundation1 in fact1 on 
which the whole superstructure must be  
raised1 the necessity of which is not   
commonly understood1 but which requires 
only to be stated to be perceived4      
,perhaps it is impossible to name any   
one subject which it is of more         
importance that the community should    
understand4 ,it is one in which every   
man's life is deeply implicated3 it is  
one on which every man's ignorance or   
information will have a considerable    
influence4 ,we shall1 therefore1 enter  

into it with some detail3 we shall show 
the kind of knowledge which it is       
indispensable that the physician and    
surgeon should possess2 we shall        
illustrate1 by a reference to particular
 cases1 the reason why this kind of     
knowledge cannot be dispensed with3 and 
we shall explain1 by a statement of     
facts1 the nature and extent of the     
obstacles which at present oppose the   
acquisition of this knowledge4 ,we      
repeat1 there is no subject in which    
every reader can be so immediately and  
deeply interested1 and we trust that he 
will give us his calm and unprejudiced  
attention4  ,the basis of all medical   
and surgical knowledge is anatomy4 ,not 
a single step can be made either in     
medicine or surgery1 considered either  
as an art or a science without it4 ,this
 should seem self evident1 and to need  
neither proof nor illustration3         
nevertheless1 as it is useful           
occasionally to contemplate the evidence
 of important truth1 we shall show why  

it is1 that there can be no rational    
medicine1 and no safe surgery1 without a
 thorough knowledge of anatomy4         
,disease1 which it is the object of     
these arts to prevent and to cure1 is   
denoted by disordered function3         
disordered function cannot be understood
 without a knowledge of healthy         
function2 healthy function cannot be    
understood without a knowledge of       
structure2 structure cannot be          
understood unless it be examined4  ,the 
organs on which all the important       
functions of the human body depend1 are 
concealed from the view4 ,there is no   
possibility of ascertaining their       
situation and connections1 much less    
their nature and operation1 without     
inspecting the interior of this curious 
and complicated machine4 ,the results of
 the mechanism are visible2 the         
mechanism itself is concealed1 and must 
be investigated to be perceived4 ,the   
important operations of nature are      
seldom entirely hidden from the human   

eye2 still less are they obtruded upon  
it1 but over the most curious and       
wonderful operations of the animal      
economy so thick a veil is drawn1 that  
they never could have been perceived    
without the most patient and minute     
research4 ,the circulation of the blood1
 for example1 never could have been     
discovered without dissection4          
,notwithstanding the partial knowledge  
of anatomy which must have been acquired
 by the accidents to which the human    
body is exposed1 by attention to wounded
 men1 by the observance of bodies killed
 by violence2 by the huntsman in using  
his prey2 by the priest in immolating   
his victims2 by the augur in pursuing   
his divinations2 by the slaughter of    
animals2 by the dissection of brutes2   
and even occasionally by the dissection 
of the human body1 century after century
 passed away1 without a suspicion having
 been excited of the real functions of  
the two great systems of vessels1       
arteries and veins4 ,it was not until   

the beginning of the #agth century1 when
 anatomy was ardently cultivated1 and   
had made considerable progress1 that the
 valves of the veins and of the heart   
were discovered1 and subsequently that  
the great ,harvey1 the pupil of the     
anatomist who discovered the latter1 by 
inspecting the structure of these       
valves2 by contemplating their          
disposition2 by reasoning upon their    
use1 was led to suspect the course of   
the blood1 and afterwards to demonstrate
 it4 ,several systems of vessels in     
which the most important functions of   
animal life are carried on--the         
absorbent system1 for example1 and even 
that portion of it which receives the   
food after it is digested1 and which    
conveys it into the blood1 are invisible
 to the naked eye1 except under peculiar
 circumstances3 whence it must be       
evident1 not only that the interior of  
the human body must be laid open1 in    
order that its organs may be seen2 but  
that these organs must be minutely and  

patiently dissected1 in order that their
 structure may be understood4  ,the most
 important diseases have their seat in  
the organs of the body2 an accurate     
acquaintance with their situation is1   
therefore1 absolutely necessary1 in     
order to ascertain the seats of disease2
 but for the reasons already assigned1  
their situation cannot be learnt1       
without the study of anatomy4 ,in       
several regions1 organs the most        
different in structure and function are 
placed close to each other4 ,in what is 
termed the epigastric region1 for       
example1 are situated the stomach1 the  
liver1 the gall bladder1 the first      
portion of the small intestine1 7the    
duodenum7 and a portion of the large    
intestine 7the colon72 each of these    
organs is essentially different in      
structure and in use1 and is liable to  
distinct diseases4 ,diseases the most   
diversified1 therefore1 requiring the   
most opposite treatment1 may exist in   
the same region of the body2 the        

discrimination of which is absolutely   
impossible1 without that knowledge which
 the study of anatomy alone can impart4 
,the seat of pain is often at a great   
distance from that of the affected      
organ4 ,in disease of the liver1 the    
pain is generally felt at the top of the
 right shoulder4 ,the right phrenic     
nerve sends a branch to the liver3 the  
third cervical nerve1 from which the    
phrenic arises1 distributes numerous    
branches to the neighborhood of the     
shoulder3 thus is established a nervous 
communication between the shoulder and  
the liver4 ,this is a fact which nothing
 but anatomy could teach1 and affords   
the explanation of a symptom which      
nothing but anatomy could give4 ,the    
knowledge of it would infallibly correct
 a mistake1 into which a person who is  
ignorant of it1 would be sure to fall3  
in fact1 persons ignorant of it do      
constantly commit the error4 ,we have   
know several instances in which organic 
disease of the liver has been           

considered1 and treated as rheumatism of
 the shoulder4 ,in each of these cases1 
disease in a most important organ might 
have been allowed to steal on           
insidiously1 until it became incurable2 
while a person1 acquainted with anatomy1
 would have detected it at once1 and    
cured it without difficulty4 ,many cases
 have occurred of persons who have been 
supposed to labor under disease of the  
liver1 and who have been treated        
accordingly3 on examination after death1
 the liver has been found perfectly     
healthy1 but there has been discovered  
extensive disease of the brain4 ,disease
 of the liver is often mistaken for     
disease of the lungs3 on the other hand1
 the lungs have been found full of      
ulcers1 when they were supposed to have 
been perfectly sound1 and when every    
symptom was referred to disease of the  
liver4 ,persons are constantly attacked 
with convulsions--children especially2  
convulsions are spasms3 spasms1 of      
course1 are to be treated by            

antispasmodics4 ,this is the notion     
amongst people ignorant of medicine3 it 
is the notion amongst old medical men3  
it is the notion amongst half educated  
young ones4 ,all this time these        
convulsions are merely a symptom2 that  
symptom depends upon1 and denotes1 most 
important disease in the brain3 the only
 chance of saving life1 is the prompt   
and vigorous application of proper      
remedies to the brain2 but the          
practitioner whose mind is occupied with
 the symptom1 and who prescribes        
antispasmodics1 not only loses the time 
in which alone any thing can be done to 
snatch the victim from death1 but by his
 remedies absolutely adds fuel to the   
flame which is consuming his patient4   
,in disease of the hip-joint pain is    
felt1 not in the hip1 but1 in the early 
stage of the disease1 at the knee4 ,this
 also depends on nervous communication4 
,the most dreadful consequences daily   
occur from an ignorance of this single  
fact4 ,in all these cases error is      

inevitable1 without a knowledge of      
anatomy3 it is scarcely possible with   
it3 in all these cases error is fatal3  
in all these cases anatomy alone can    
prevent the error--anatomy alone can    
correct it4 ,experience1 so far from    
leading to its detection1 would only    
establish it in men's minds1 and render 
its removal impossible4 ,what is called 
experience is of no manner of use to an 
ignorant and unreflecting practitioner4 
,in nothing does the adage1 that it is  
the wise only who profit by experience1 
receive so complete an illustration as  
in medicine4 ,a man who is ignorant of  
certain principles1 and who is incapable
 of reasoning in a certain manner1 may  
have daily before him for fifty years   
cases affording the most complete       
evidence of their truth1 and of the     
importance of the deduction to which    
they lead1 without observing the one1 or
 deducing the other4 ,hence the most    
profoundly ignorant of medicine1 are    
often the oldest members of the         

profession1 and those who have had the  
most extensive practice4 ,a medical     
education1 founded on a knowledge of    
anatomy1 is1 therefore1 not only        
indispensable to prevent the most fatal 
errors1 but to enable a person to obtain
 advantage from those sources of        
improvement which extensive practice may
 open to him4  ,to the surgeon1 anatomy 
is eminently what ,bacon has so         
beautifully said that knowledge in      
general is3 it is power--it is power to 
lessen pain1 to save life1 and to       
eradicate diseases1 which1 without its  
aid1 would be incurable and fatal4 ,it  
is impossible to convey to the reader a 
clear conception of this truth1 without 
a reference to particular cases2 and the
 subject is one of such extreme         
importance1 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 treat4 ,aneurism1 for example1 is a  
disease of an artery1 and consists of a 

preternatural dilatation of its coats4  
,this dilatation arises from the        
debility of the vessel1 whence1 unable  
to resist the impetus of the blood1 it  
yields1 and is dilated into a sac4 ,when
 once the disease is induced1 it        
commonly goes on to increase with a     
steady and uninterrupted progress1 until
 at last it suddenly bursts1 and the    
patient expires instantaneously from    
loss of blood4 ,when left to itself1 it 
almost uniformly proves fatal in this   
manner2 yet1 before the time of ,galen1 
no notice was taken of this terrible    
malady4 ,the ancients1 indeed1 who      
believed that the arteries were air     
tubes1 could not possibly have conceived
 the existence of an aneurism4 ,were the
 number of individuals in ,europe1 who  
are now annually cured of aneurism1 by  
the interference of art1 to be assumed  
as the basis of a calculation of the    
number of persons who must have perished
 by this disease1 from the beginning of 
the world to the time of ,galen1 it     

would convey some conception of the     
extent to which anatomical knowledge is 
the means of saving human life4  ,the   
only way in which it is possible to cure
 this disease is1 to produce an         
obliteration of the cavity of the       
artery4 ,this is the object of the      
operation4 ,the diseased artery is      
exposed1 and a ligature is passed around
 it1 above the dilatation1 by means of  
which the blood is prevented from       
flowing into the sac1 and inflammation  
is excited in the vessel2 in consequence
 of which its sides adhere together1 and
 its cavity becomes obliterated4 ,the   
success of the operation depends        
entirely on the completeness of the     
adhesion of the sides of the vessel1 and
 the consequent obliteration of its     
cavity4 ,this adhesion will not take    
place unless the portion of the artery  
to which the ligature is applied be in a
 sound state4 ,if it be diseased1 as it 
almost always is near the seat of the   
aneurism1 when the process of nature is 

completed by which the ligature is      
removed1 hemorrhage takes place1 and the
 patient dies just as if the aneurism   
had been left to itself4 ,for a long    
time the ligature was applied as close  
as possible to the seat of the aneurism3
 the aneurismal sac was laid open in its
 whole extent1 and the blood it         
contained was scooped out4 ,the         
consequence was1 that a large           
deep-seated sore1 composed of parts in  
an unhealthy state1 was formed3 it was  
necessary to the cure that this sore    
should suppurate1 granulate1 and heal3 a
 process which the constitution was     
frequently unable to support4 ,moreover1
 there was a constant danger that the   
patient would perish from hemorrhage1   
through the want of adhesion of the     
sides of the artery4 ,the profound      
knowledge of healthy and of diseased    
structure1 and of the laws of the animal
 economy by which both are regulated1   
which ,john ,hunter had acquired from   
anatomy1 suggested to this eminent man a

 mode of operating1 the effect of which1
 in preserving human life1 has placed   
him high in the rank of the benefactors 
of his race4 ,this consummate anatomist 
saw1 that the reason why death so often 
followed the common operation was1      
because that process which was essential
 to his success was prevented by the    
diseased condition of the artery4 ,he   
perceived that the vessel1 at some      
distance from the aneurism1 was in a    
sound state2 and conceived1 that if the 
ligature were applied to this distant   
part1 that is1 to a sound instead of a  
diseased portion of the artery1 this    
necessary process would not be          
counteracted4 ,to this there was one    
capital objection1 that it would often  
be necessary to apply the ligature      
around the main trunk of an artery1     
before it gives off its branches1 in    
consequence of which the parts below the
 ligature would be deprived of their    
supply of blood1 and would therefore    
mortify4 ,so frequent and great are the 

communications between all the arteries 
of the body1 however1 that he thought it
 probable1 that a sufficient supply     
would be borne to these parts through   
the medium of collateral branches4 ,for 
an aneurism in the ham1 he1 therefore1  
boldly cut down upon the main trunk of  
the artery which supplies the lower     
extremity2 and applied a ligature around
 it1 where it is seated near the middle 
of the thigh1 in the confident          
expectation that1 though he thus        
deprived the limb of the supply of blood
 which it received through its direct   
channel1 it would not perish4 ,his      
knowledge of the processes of the animal
 economy1 led him to expect that the    
force of the circulation being thus     
taken off from the aneurismal sac1 the  
progress of the disease would be        
stopped2 that the sac itself1 with all  
its contents1 would be absorbed2 that by
 this means the whole tumor would be    
removed1 and that an opening into it    
would be unnecessary4 ,the most complete

 success followed this noble experiment1
 and the sensations which this          
philosopher experienced when he         
witnessed the event1 must have been     
exquisite1 and have constituted an      
appropriate reward for the application  
of profound knowledge to the mitigation 
of human suffering4 ,after ,hunter      
followed ,abernethy1 who1 treading in   
the footsteps of his master1 for an     
aneurism of the femoral1 placed a       
ligature around the external iliac      
artery2 lately the internal iliac itself
 has been taken up1 and surgeons have   
tied arteries of such importance1 that  
they have been themselves astonished at 
the extent and splendor of their        
success4 ,every individual1 on whom an  
operation of this kind has been         
successfully performed1 is snatched by  
it from certain and inevitable death6   
,the symptom by which an aneurism is    
distinguished from every other tumor is1
 chiefly its pulsating motion4 ,but when
 an aneurism has become very large1 it  

ceases to pulsate2 and when an abscess  
is seated near an artery of great       
magnitude1 it acquires a pulsating      
motion2 because the pulsations of the   
artery are perceptible through the      
abscess4 ,the real nature of cases of   
this kind cannot possibly be            
ascertained1 without a most careful     
investigation1 combined with an exact   
knowledge of the structure and relative 
position of all the parts in the        
neighborhood of the tumor4 ,pelletan1   
one of the most distinguished surgeons  
of ,france1 was one day called to a man 
who1 after a long walk1 was seized with 
a severe pain in the leg1 over the seat 
of which appeared a tumor1 which was    
attended with a pulsation so violent    
that it lifted up the hand of the       
examiner4 ,there seemed every reason to 
suppose that the case was an aneurismal 
swelling4 ,this acute observer1 however1
 in comparing the affected with the     
sound limb1 perceived in the latter a   
similar throbbing4 ,on careful          

examination he discovered that1 by a    
particular disposition in this          
individual1 one of the main arteries of 
the leg 7the anterior tibial7 deviated  
from its usual course1 and instead of   
plunging deep between the muscles1 lay  
immediately under the skin and fascia4  
,the truth was1 that the man in the     
exertion of walking1 had ruptured some  
muscular fibres1 and the uncommon       
distribution of the artery gave to this 
accident these peculiar symptoms4 ,the  
real nature of this case could not      
possibly have been ascertained but by an
 anatomist4 ,the same surgeon has       
recorded the case of a man who1 having  
fallen twice from his horse1 and        
experienced for several years           
considerable uneasiness in his back1 was
 afflicted with acute pain in the       
abdomen4 ,at the same time an oval1     
irregularly circumscribed tumor made its
 appearance in the right flank4 ,it     
presented a distinct fluctuation1 and   
had all the appearance of a collection  

of matter depending on caries of the    
vertebr4 ,the pain was seated chiefly at
 the lower portion of that part of the  
spine which forms the back1 which was1  
moreover1 distorted2 and this might have
 confirmed the opinion that the case was
 a lumbar abscess with caries4          
,pelletan1 however1 who well knew that  
an aneurism1 as it enlarges1 may destroy
 any bone in its neighborhood1 saw that 
the disease was an aneurism1 and        
predicted that the patient must perish4 
,on opening the body 7for the man lived 
only ten days after ,pelletan first saw 
him7 an aneurismal tumor was discovered1
 which nearly filled the cavity of the  
abdomen4 ,if this case had been mistaken
 for lumbar abscess1 and the tumor had  
been opened with a view of affording an 
exit to the matter1 the man would have  
died in a few seconds4 ,there is no     
surgeon of discernment or experience    
whose attention has not been awakened1  
and whose sagacity has not been put to  
the test1 by the occurrence of similar  

cases in his own practice4 ,the         
consequence of error is almost always   
instantaneously fatal4 ,the catalogue of
 such disastrous events is long and     
melancholy4 ,richerand has recorded1    
that ,ferrand1 head surgeon of the      
,hotel ,dieu1 mistook an aneurism in the
 armpit for an abscess2 plunged his     
knife into the swelling1 and killed the 
patient4 ,de ,haen speaks of a person   
who died in consequence of an opening   
which was made1 contrary to the advice  
of ,boerhaave in a similar tumor at the 
knee4 ,vesalius was consulted about a   
tumor in the back1 which he pronounced  
to be an aneurism2 but an ignorant      
practitioner having made an opening into
 it1 the patient instantly bled to      
death4 ,nothing can be more easy than to
 confound an aneurism of the artery of  
the neck with the swelling of the glands
 in its neighborhood3 with a swelling of
 the cellular substance which surrounds 
the artery2 with abscesses of various   
kinds2 but if a surgeon were to fall    

into this error1 and to open a carotid  
aneurism1 his patient would certainly be
 dead in the space of a few moments4 ,it
 must be evident1 then1 that a thorough 
knowledge of anatomy is not only        
indispensable to the proper treatment of
 cases of this description1 but also to 
the prevention of the most fatal        
mistakes4  ,there is nothing in surgery 
of more importance than the proper      
treatment of hemorrhage4 ,of the        
confusion and terror occasioned by the  
sight of a human being from whom the    
blood is gushing in torrents1 and whose 
condition none of the spectators is able
 to relieve1 no one can form an adequate
 conception1 but those who have         
witnessed it4 ,in all such cases1 there 
is one thing proper to be done1 the     
prompt performance of which is generally
 as certainly successful1 as the neglect
 of it is inevitably fatal4 ,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 emergency4 ,he is confused2 he  
hesitates3 while he is deciding what    
measures to adopt1 the patient expires3 
he can never think of that man's death  
without horror1 for he is conscious     
that1 but for his ignorance1 he might   
have averted his patient's fate4 ,the   
ancient surgeons were constantly placed 
in this situation1 and the dread        
inspired by it retarded the progress of 
surgery more than all other causes put  
together4 ,not only were they terrified 
from interfering with the most painful  
and destructive diseases1 which         
experience has proved to be capable of  
safe and easy removal1 but they were    
afraid to cut even the most trivial     
tumor4 ,when they ventured to remove a  
part1 they attempted it only by means of
 the ligature1 or by the application of 
burning irons4 ,when they determined to 
amputate1 they never thought of doing so
 until the limb had mortified1 and the  
dead had separated from the living      
parts2 for they were absolutely afraid  

to cut into the living flesh4 ,they had 
no means of stopping hemorrhage1 but by 
the application of astringents to the   
bleeding vessels1 remedies which were   
inert2 or of burning irons1 or boiling  
turpentine1 expedients which were not   
only inert but cruel4 ,surgeons now know
 that the grand means of stopping       
hemorrhage is compression of the        
bleeding vessel4 ,if pressure be made on
 the trunk of an artery1 though blood be
 flowing from a thousand branches given 
off from it1 the bleeding will cease4   
,should the situation of the artery be  
such as to allow of effectual external  
pressure1 nothing further is requisite3 
the pressure being applied1 the bleeding
 is stopped at once3 should the         
situation of the vessel place it beyond 
the reach of external pressure1 it is   
necessary to cut down upon it1 and to   
secure it by the application of a       
ligature4 ,par may be pardoned for      
supposing that he was led to the        
discovery of this invaluable remedy by  

the inspiration of the ,deity4 ,by means
 of it the most formidable operations   
may be undertaken with the utmost       
confidence1 because the wounded vessels 
can be secured the moment they are cut3 
by the same means the most frightful    
hemorrhages may be most effectually     
stopped3 and even when the bleeding is  
so violent as to threaten immediate     
death1 it may often be averted by the   
simple expedient of placing the finger  
upon the wounded vessel1 until there is 
time to tie it4 ,but it is obvious that 
none of these expedients can be         
employed1 and that these bleedings can  
neither be checked at the moment1 nor   
permanently stopped1 without such a     
knowledge of the course of the trunks   
and branches of vessels1 as can be      
acquired only by the study of anatomy4  
,the success of amputation is closely   
connected with the knowledge of the     
means of stopping hemorrhage4 ,not to   
amputate is often to abandon the patient
 to a certain and miserable death4 ,and 

all that the surgeon formerly did1 was  
to watch the progress of that death3 he 
had no power to stop or even to retard  
it4 ,the fate of ,sir ,philip ,sidney is
 a melancholy illustration of this      
truth4 ,this noble minded man1 the light
 and glory of his age1 was cut off in   
the bloom of manhood1 and the midst of  
his usefulness1 by the wound of a musket
 bullet in his left leg1 a little above 
the knee1 when extraction of the ball1  
or amputation of the limb1 says his     
biographer1 would have saved his        
inestimable life3 but the surgeons and  
physicians were unwilling to practice   
the one1 and knew not how to perform the
 other4 ,he was variously tormented by a
 number of surgeons and physicians for  
three weeks4 ,amputation indeed was     
never attempted1 except where           
mortification had itself half performed 
the operation4 ,the just apprehension of
 an hemorrhage which there was no       
adequate means of stopping1 checked the 
hand of the boldest surgeon1 and quailed

 the courage of the most daring         
patient--and if ever the operation was  
resorted to1 it almost always proved    
fatal3 the patient generally expired1   
according to the expression of ,celsus1 
in ipso opere4 ,how could it be         
otherwise8 ,the surgeon cut through the 
flesh of his patient with a red hot     
knife3 this was his only means of       
stopping the hemorrhage3 by this        
expedient he sought to convert the whole
 surface of the stump into an eschar3   
but this operation1 painful in its      
execution1 and terrible in its          
consequences1 when it even appeared to  
succeed1 succeeded only for a few days2 
for the bleeding generally returned1 and
 proved fatal as soon as the sloughs or 
dead parts became loose4 ,plunging the  
stump into boiling oil1 into boiling    
turpentine1 into boiling pitch1 for all 
these means were used1 was attended with
 no happier result1 and after           
unspeakable suffering1 almost every     
patient perished4 ,in the manner in     

which amputation is performed at        
present1 not more than one person in    
twenty loses his life in consequence of 
the operation1 even taking into the     
account all the cases in which it is    
practised in hospitals4 ,in private     
practice1 where many circumstances favor
 its success1 it is computed that #ie   
persons out of #ajj recover from it1    
when it is performed at a proper time1  
and in a proper manner4 ,it seems       
impossible to exhibit a more striking   
illustration of the great value of      
anatomical knowledge4  ,but if there be 
any disease1 which1 from the frequency  
of its occurrence1 from the variety of  
its forms1 from the difficulty of       
discriminating between it and other     
maladies1 and from the danger attendant 
on almost all its varieties1 requires a 
combination of the most minute          
investigation1 with the most accurate   
anatomical knowledge1 it is that of     
hernia4 ,this disease consists of a     
protrusion of some of the viscera of the

 abdomen1 from the cavity in which they 
are naturally contained1 into a         
preternatural bag1 composed of the      
portion of the peritoneum 7the membrane 
which lines the abdomen7 which is pushed
 before them4 ,it is computed that one  
sixteenth of the human race are         
afflicted with this malady4 ,it is      
sometimes merely an inconvenient        
complaint1 attended with no evil        
consequences whatever2 but there is no  
form of this disease1 which is not      
liable to be suddenly changed1 and by   
slight causes1 from a perfectly innocent
 state1 into a condition which may prove
 fatal in a few hours4 ,the disease     
itself occurs in numerous situations2 it
 may be confounded with various         
diseases2 it may exist in the most      
diversified states2 it may require1     
without the loss of a single moment1 a  
most important and delicate operation2  
and it may appear to demand this        
operation1 while the performance of it  
may really be not only useless1 but     

highly pernicious4  ,the danger of      
hernia depends on its passing into that 
state which is technically termed       
strangulation4 ,when a protruded        
intestine suffers such a degree of      
pressure1 as to occasion a total        
obstruction to the passage of its       
contents1 it is said to be strangulated4
 ,the consequence of pressure thus      
producing strangulation is1 the         
excitement of inflammation3 this        
inflammation must inevitably prove      
fatal1 unless the pressure be promptly  
removed4 ,in most cases1 this can be    
effected only by the operation4 ,two    
things1 then1 are indispensable3 first1 
the ability to ascertain that the       
symptoms are really produced by         
pressure1 that is1 to distinguish the   
disease from the affections which       
resemble it2 and secondly1 when this is 
effected1 to perform the operation with 
promptitude and success4 ,the           
distinction of strangulated hernia from 
affections which resemble it1 often     

requires the most exact knowledge and   
the most minute investigation4 ,the     
intestine included in a hernial sac1 may
 be merely affected with colic1 and thus
 give rise to the appearance of         
strangulation4 ,it may be in a state of 
irritation1 produced1 for example1 by   
unusual fatigue2 and from this cause1   
may be attacked with the symptoms of    
inflammation4 ,inflammation may be      
excited in the intestine1 by the common 
causes of inflammation1 which the hernia
 may have no share in inducing1 and of  
which it may not even participate4 ,were
 this case mistaken1 and the operation  
performed1 it would not only be useless1
 but pernicious3 while the attention of 
the practitioner would be diverted from 
the real nature of the malady2 the      
prompt and vigorous application of the  
remedies which alone could save the     
patient1 would be neglected1 and he     
would probably perish4 ,on the other    
hand1 a very small portion of intestine 
may become strangulated1 and urgently   

require the operation4 ,but there may be
 no tumor2 all the symptoms may be      
those1 and1 on a superficial            
examination1 only those1 of inflammation
 of the bowels4 ,were the real nature of
 this case mistaken1 death would be     
inevitable4 ,nothing is more common than
 fatal errors of this kind4 ,it is only 
a few months ago1 that a physician was  
called in haste to a person who was said
 to be dying of inflammation of the     
bowels4 ,before he reached the house the
 man was dead4 ,he had been ill only    
three days4 ,on looking at the abdomen1 
there was a manifest hernia3 the first  
glance was sufficient to ascertain the  
fact4 ,the practitioner in attendance   
had known nothing of the matter2 he had 
never suspected the real nature of the  
disease1 and had made no inquiry which  
could have led to the detection of it4  
,here was a case which might probably   
have been saved1 but for the criminal   
ignorance and inattention of the        
practitioner4 ,whenever there are       

symptoms of inflammation of the bowels1 
examination of the abdomen is           
indispensable3 and the life of the      
patient will depend on the care and     
accuracy with which the investigation is
 made4  ,but it is possible that        
inflammation may attack the parts       
included in the hernial sac1 without    
arising from the hernia itself4 ,the    
inflammation may be produced by the     
common causes of inflammation2 there may
 be no pressure3 there may be no        
strangulation3 the swelling may be the  
seat1 not the cause of the disease4 ,in 
this case1 too1 the operation would be  
both useless and pernicious4 ,now all   
these are diversities which it is of the
 highest importance to discriminate4 ,in
 some of them1 life depends on the      
clearness1 accuracy1 and promptitude1   
with which the discrimination is made4  
,promptitude is of no less consequence  
than accuracy4 ,if the decision be not  
formed and acted on at once1 it will be 
of no avail4 ,the rapidity of the       

progress of this disease is often       
frightful4 ,we have mentioned a case in 
which it was fatal in three days1 but it
 not unfrequently terminates fatally in 
less than twenty four hours4 ,sir       
,astley ,cooper mentions a case in which
 the patient was dead in eight hours    
after the commencement of the disease4  
,larrey has recorded the case of a      
soldier in whom a hernia took place1    
which was strangulated immediately4 ,he 
was brought to the ambulance instantly1 
and perished in two hours with gangrene 
of the part1 and of the abdominal       
viscera4 ,this was the second instance  
which had occurred to this surgeon of a 
rapidity thus appalling4 ,what clearness
 of judgment1 what accuracy of          
knowledge1 what promptitude of decision1
 are necessary to treat such a disease  
with any chance of success6  ,the moment
 that a case is ascertained to be       
strangulated hernia1 an attempt must be 
made to liberate the parts from the     
stricture1 and to replace them in their 

natural situation4 ,this is first       
attempted by the hand1 and the operation
 is technically termed the taxis4 ,the  
patient must be placed in a particular  
position2 pressure must be made in a    
particular direction2 it is impossible  
to ascertain either1 without an accurate
 knowledge of the parts4 ,if pressure be
 made in a wrong direction1 and in a    
rough and unscientific manner1 the      
organs protruded instead of being urged 
through a proper opening1 are bruised   
against the parts which oppose their    
return4 ,many cases are on record1 in   
which gangrene and even rupture of the  
intestine1 have been occasioned in this 
manner4 ,when the parts cannot be       
returned by the hand1 assisted by those 
remedies which experience has proved to 
be beneficial1 the operation must be    
performed without the delay of a moment4
 ,to its proper performance two things  
are necessary4 ,first1 a minute         
anatomical knowledge of the various and 
complicated parts which are implicated  

in it2 and secondly1 a steady1 firm1 and
 delicate command of the knife4 ,in the 
first place1 the integuments must be    
divided2 the cellular substance which   
intervenes between the skin and the     
hernial sac must be removed layer by    
layer with the knife and the dissecting 
forceps2 the sac itself must be opened3 
this part of the operation must be      
performed with the most extreme caution3
 the sac being laid open1 the protruded 
organs are now exposed to view4 ,the    
operator must next ascertain the exact  
point where the stricture exists2 having
 discovered its seat1 he must make his  
incision with a particular              
instrument--in a certain direction--to a
 definite extent4 ,on account of the    
nature of the parts implicated in the   
operation1 and the proximity of vessels1
 life depends on an exact knowledge and 
a precise and delicate attention to all 
these circumstances4 ,how can this      
knowledge be obtained1 how can this     
dexterity be acquired1 without a        

profound acquaintance with anatomy1 and 
how can this be acquired without        
frequent and laborious dissection8 ,the 
eye must become familiar with the       
appearance of the integuments1 with the 
appearance of the cellular substance    
beneath it1 with the appearance of the  
hernial sac1 and of the changes which it
 undergoes by disease2 with the         
appearance of the various viscera       
contained in it1 and of their changes3  
and the hand must pay that steady and   
prompt obedience to the judgment1 which 
nothing but knowledge1 and the          
consciousness of knowledge1 can command4
 ,even this is not all4 ,when the       
operation has been performed thus far   
with perfect skill and success1 the most
 opposite measures are required         
according to the actual state of the    
organs contained in the sac4 ,if they   
are agglutinated together--if portions  
of them are in a state of mortification1
 to return them into the cavity of the  
abdomen in that condition1 would1 in    

general1 be certain death4              
,preternatural adhesion must be removed2
 mortified portions must be cut away3   
but how can this possibly be done       
without an acquaintance with healthy and
 diseased structure1 and how can this be
 obtained without dissecting the organs 
in a state of health and of disease8    
,it has been stated that the progress of
 strangulated hernia to a fatal         
termination is often frightfully rapid2 
in certain cases to delay the operation1
 even for a very short period1 is1      
therefore1 to lose the only chance of   
success4 ,but ignorant and half informed
 surgeons are afraid to operate4 ,they  
are conscious that the operation is one 
of immense importance3 they know that in
 the hands of an operator ignorant of   
anatomy1 it is one of extreme hazard3   
they therefore put off the time as long 
as possible3 they have recourse to every
 expedient3 they resort to every thing  
but the only efficient remedy1 and when 
at last they are compelled by a secret  

sense of shame to try that1 it is too   
late4 ,all the best practical surgeons  
express themselves in the strongest     
language on the importance of performing
 the operation early1 if it be performed
 at all4 ,on this point there is a      
perfect accordance between the most     
celebrated practitioners on the         
continent1 and the great surgeons of our
 own country3 all represent1 in many    
parts of their writings1 the dangerous  
and fatal effects of delay4 ,mr4 ,hey in
 his ,practical ,observations1 states   
that when he first began to practice1 he
 considered the operation as the last   
resource1 and only to be employed when  
the danger appeared imminent4 ,by this  
dilatory mode of practice1 says he1 ,i  
lost three patients in five1 upon whom  
the operation was performed4 ,having    
more experience of the urgency of the   
disease1 ,i made it my custom1 when     
called to a patient who had laboured two
 or three days under the disease1 to    
wait only about two hours1 that ,i might

 try the effect of bleeding 7if that    
evacuation was not forbidden by some    
peculiar circumstance of the case7 and  
the tobacco clyster4 ,in this mode of   
practice1 ,i lost about two patients in 
nine1 upon whom ,i operated4 ,this      
comparison is drawn from cases nearly   
similar1 leaving out of the account     
those cases in which gangrene of the    
intestine had taken place4 ,i have now1 
at the time of writing this1 performed  
the operation thirty-five times2 and    
have often had occasion to lament that  
,i performed it too late1 but never that
 ,i had performed it too soon4  ,these  
observations are sufficient to show the 
importance of anatomy in certain        
surgical diseases4 ,the state of medical
 opinion from the earliest ages to the  
present time1 furnishes a most          
instructive proof of its necessity to   
the detection and cure of disease in    
general4 ,the doctrines of the father of
 physic were in the highest degree vague
 and unmeaning4 ,every thing is resolved

 by ,hippocrates into a general         
principle1 which he terms nature2 and to
 which he ascribes intelligence2 which  
he clothes with the attributes of       
justice2 and which he represents as     
possessing virtues and powers1 which he 
says are her servants1 and by means of  
which she performs all her operations in
 the bodies of animals1 distributes the 
blood1 spirits1 and heat1 through all   
the parts of the body1 and imparts to   
them life and sensation4 ,he states that
 the manner in which she acts1 is by    
attracting what is good or agreeable to 
each species1 and retaining1 preparing1 
and changing it3 or1 on the other hand1 
by rejecting whatever is superfluous or 
hurtful1 after she has separated it from
 the good4 ,this is the foundation of   
the doctrine of depuration1 concoction1 
and crisis in fevers1 so much insisted  
on by him1 and by other physicians after
 him2 but when he explains what he means
 by nature1 he resolves it into heat1   
which he says appears to have something 

immortal in it4  ,the great opponent of 
,hippocrates was ,asclepiades4 ,he      
asserted that matter1 considered in     
itself1 is of an unchangeable nature3   
that all perceptible bodies are composed
 of a number of small ones1 termed      
corpuscles1 between which there are     
interspersed an infinity of small spaces
 totally devoid of matter3 that the soul
 itself is composed of these corpuscles3
 that what is called nature is nothing  
more than matter and motion3 that       
,hippocrates knew not what he said when 
he spoke of nature as an intelligent    
being1 and ascribed to her various      
qualities and virtues3 that the         
corpuscles1 of which all bodies are     
composed1 are of different figures1 and 
consist of different assemblages3 that  
all bodies contain numerous pores1 or   
interstices1 which are of different     
sizes3 that the human body1 like all    
other bodies1 possesses pores peculiar  
to itself3 that these pores are larger  
or smaller1 according as the corpuscles 

which pass through them differ in       
magnitude3 that the blood consists of   
the largest1 and the spirits and the    
heat of the smallest4 ,on these         
principles1 ,asclepiades founded his    
theory of medicine4 ,he maintains1 that 
as long as the corpuscles are freely    
received by the pores1 the body remains 
in its natural state3 that1 on the      
contrary1 as soon as any obstacle       
obstructs their passage1 it begins to   
recede from that state3 that1 therefore1
 health depends on the just proportion  
between these pores and corpuscles3     
that1 on the contrary1 disease proceeds 
from a disproportion between them3 that 
the most usual obstacle arises from a   
retention of some of the corpuscles in  
their ordinary passages1 where they     
arrive in too large a number1 or are of 
irregular figures1 or move too fast or  
proceed too slow3 that phrensies1       
lethargies1 pleurises1 burning fevers   
for example1 are occasioned by these    
corpuscles stopping of their own accord3

 that pain is produced by the stagnation
 of the largest of all these corpuscles1
 of which the blood consists3 that1 on  
the contrary1 deliriums1 languors1      
extenuations1 leanness and dropsies1    
derive their origin from a bad state of 
the pores1 which are too much relaxed1  
or opened3 that dropsy1 in particular1  
proceeds from the flesh being perforated
 with various small holes1 which convert
 the nourishment received into them into
 water3 that hunger is occasioned by an 
opening of the large pores of the       
stomach and belly3 that thirst arises   
from an opening of the small pores3 that
 intermittent fevers have the same      
origin3 that quotidian fever is produced
 by a retention of the largest          
corpuscles2 tertian fever by a retention
 of corpuscles somewhat smaller2 and    
quartan fever by a retention of the     
smallest corpuscles of all4  ,galen     
maintained that the animal body is      
composed of three principles1 namely1   
the solids1 the humors1 and the spirits4

 ,that the solid parts consist of       
similar and organic3 that the humors are
 four in number1 namely1 the blood1 the 
phlegm1 the yellow bile1 and the black  
bile3 that the spirits are of three     
kinds1 namely1 the vital1 the animal1   
and the natural3 that the vital spirit  
is a subtle vapour which arises from the
 blood1 and which derives its origin    
from the liver1 the organ of            
sanguification3 that the spirits thus   
formed1 are conveyed to the heart1      
where1 in conjunction with the air drawn
 into the lungs by respiration1 they    
become the matter of the second species1
 namely1 of the vital spirits3 that in  
their turn1 the vital spirits are       
changed into the animal in the brain1   
and so on4  ,at last came ,paracelsus1  
who was believed to have discovered the 
elixir of life1 and who is the very     
prince of charlatans4 ,he delivered a   
course of lectures on the theory and    
practice of physic in the ,university of
 ,basle1 which he commenced by burning  

the works of ,galen and ,avicenna in the
 presence of his auditory4 ,he assured  
his hearers1 that his shoe-latchets had 
more knowledge than both these          
illustrious authors put together3 that  
all the academies in the world had not  
so much experience as his beard2 and    
that the hair on the back of his neck   
was more learned than the whole tribe of
 authors4 ,it was fitting that a person 
of such splendid pretensions should have
 a magnificent name4 ,he1 therefore1    
called himself ,,philippus ,,aureolus   
,,theophrastus ,,paracelsus ,,bombast   
,,von ,,hohenheim4 ,he was a great      
chemist1 and like other chemists1 he was
 a little too apt to carry into other   
sciences the smoke and tarnish of the   
furnace4 ,he conceived that the elements
 of the living system were the same as  
those of his laboratory1 and that       
sulphur1 salt1 and quicksilver1 were the
 constituents of organized bodies4 ,he  
taught that these constituents were     
combined by chemical operations3 that   

their relations were governed by        
,archeus1 a demon1 who performed the    
part of alchemist in the stomach1 who   
separated the poisonous from the        
nutritive part of the food1 and who     
communicated the tincture by which the  
food became capable of assimilation3    
that this governor of the stomach1 this 
spiritus vit1 this astral body of man1  
was the immediate cause of all diseases1
 and chief agent in their cure3 that    
each member of the body had its peculiar
 stomach1 by which the work of secretion
 was effected3 that diseases were       
produced by certain influences1 of which
 there were five in particular1 viz4 ens
 estrale1 ens veneni1 ens naturale1 ens 
spirituale1 and ens deale3 that when    
,archeus was sick1 putrescence was      
occasioned1 and that either localiter or
 emunctorialiter1 c4 c4 c4  ,it would be
 leading to a detail which is           
incompatible with our present purpose to
 follow these speculations1 or to give  
an account of the doctrines of the      

mechanical physicians1 who believed that
 every operation of the animal economy  
was explained by comparing it to a      
system of ropes1 levers1 and pulleys1   
united with a number of rigid tubes of  
different lengths and diameters1        
containing fluids which1 from variations
 in their impelling causes1 moved with  
different degrees of velocity3 or of the
 chemical physicians1 whose manner of   
theorizing and investigating would have 
qualified them better for the occupation
 of the brewer or of the distiller1 than
 for that of the physician4 ,all these  
speculations are idle fancies1 without  
any evidence whatever to support them2  
and it has been argued that1 for this   
very reason1 they must have been without
 any practical result1 and that1        
therefore1 if they were productive of no
 benefit1 they were1 at least1          
innoxious4 ,no opinion can be more false
 or pernicious4 ,these wretched theories
 not only pre occupied the mind1        
prevented it from observing the real    

phenomena of health and of disease1 and 
the actual effect of the remedies which 
were employed1 and thus put an effectual
 stop to the progress of the science3   
but they were productive of the most    
direct and serious evils4 ,it is no less
 true in medicine than in philosophy and
 morals1 that there is no such thing as 
innoxious error2 that men's opinions    
invariably influence their conduct2 and 
that physicians1 like other men1 act as 
they think4 ,asclepiades1 whose mind was
 full of corpuscles and interstices1 was
 intent on finding suitable remedies1   
which he discovered in gestation1       
friction1 and the use of wine4 ,by      
various exercises1 he proposed to render
 the pores more open1 and to make the   
juices and corpuscles1 the retention of 
which causes disease1 to pass more      
freely4 ,hence he used gestation from   
the very beginning of the most burning  
fevers4 ,he laid it down as a maxim1    
that one fever was to be cured by       
another2 that the strength of the       

patient was to be exhausted by making   
him watch and endure thirst to such a   
degree1 that for the first two days of  
the disorder he would not allow them to 
cool their mouths with a drop of water4 
,abernethy's regulated diet is luxurious
 compared to his plan of abstinence4    
,for the three first days he allowed his
 patients no aliment whatever2 on the   
fourth1 he so far relented as to give to
 some of them a small portion of food2  
but from others he absolutely withheld  
all nourishment till the seventh day4   
,and this is the gentleman who laid it  
down as a maxim1 that all diseases are  
to be cured ,tuto1 celeriter et jucunde4
 ,to be sure he was a believer in the   
doctrine of compensation2 and in the    
latter stage of their diseases          
endeavored to recompense his patients   
for the privations he caused them to    
endure in the beginning of their        
illness4 ,celsus observes1 that though  
he treated his patients like a butcher  
during the first days of the disorder1  

he afterwards indulged them so far as to
 give directions for making their beds  
in the softest manner4 ,he allowed them 
abundance of wine1 which he gave freely 
in all fevers2 he did not forbid it even
 to those afflicted with phrenzy3 nay1  
he ordered them to drink it till they   
were intoxicated2 for1 said he1 it is   
absolutely necessary that persons who   
labor under phrenzy should sleep1 and   
wine has a narcotic quality4 ,to        
lethargic patients1 he prescribed it    
with great freedom1 but with the        
opposite purpose of rousing them from   
their stupor4 ,his great remedy in      
dropsy was friction1 which1 of course1  
he employed to open the pores4 ,with the
 same view1 he enjoined active exercise 
to the sick2 but what is a little       
extraordinary1 he denied it to those in 
health4  ,eristratus1 who was a great   
speculator1 and whose theories had the  
most important influence on his         
practice1 banished blood-letting        
altogether from medicine1 for the       

following notable reasons3 because1 he  
says1 we cannot always see the vein we  
intend to open2 because we are not sure 
we may not open an artery instead of a  
vein2 because we cannot ascertain the   
true quantity to be taken2 because1 if  
we take too little1 the intention is not
 answered2 if too much1 we may destroy  
the patient2 and because the evacuation 
of the venous blood is succeeded by that
 of the spirits1 which thus pass from   
the arteries into the veins2 wherefore1 
blood-letting ought never to be used as 
a remedy in disease4 ,yet1 though he was
 thus cautious in abstracting blood1 it 
must not be supposed that he was not a  
sufficiently bold practitioner4 ,in     
tumor of the liver1 he hesitated not to 
cut open the abdomen1 and to apply his  
medicines immediately to the diseased   
organ2 but though he took such liberties
 with the liver1 he regarded with the   
greatest apprehension the operation of  
tapping in dropsy of the abdomen3       
because1 said he1 the waters being      

evacuated1 the liver which is inflamed  
and become hard like a stone1 is more   
pressed by the adjacent parts1 which the
 waters kept at a distance from it1     
whence the patient dies4  ,one physician
 conceived that gout originated from an 
effervescence of the synovia of the     
joints with the vitriolated blood3      
whence he recommended alcohol for its   
cure3 a remedy for which the court of   
aldermen ought to have voted him a      
medal4 ,a more ancient practitioner1 who
 believed that the finger of ,st4       
,blasius was very efficacious for       
removing a bone which sticks in the     
throat1 maintained that gout was the    
grand drier1 and prescribed a remedy for
 it1 which the patient was to use for a 
whole year1 and to observe the following
 diet each month4 ,in ,september1 he    
must eat and drink milk2 in ,october1 he
 must eat garlic2 in ,november1 he is to
 abstain from bathing2 in ,december1 he 
must eat no cabbage2 in ,january1 he is 
to take a glass of pure wine in the     

morning2 in ,february1 to eat no beef2  
in ,march1 to mix several things both in
 eatables and drinkables2 in ,april1 not
 to eat horse-radish2 nor in ,may1 the  
fish called ,polypus2 in ,june1 he is to
 drink cold water in a morning2 in      
,july1 to avoid venery2 and lastly1 in  
,august1 to eat no mallows4  ,a third   
physician deduced all diseases from     
inspissation of the fluids2 hence he    
attached the highest importance to      
diluent drinks1 and believed that tea1  
especially1 is a sovereign remedy in    
almost every disease to which the human 
frame is subject2 tea1 says ,bentekoe1  
who is loudest in his praises of this   
panacea1 and who1 as ,blumenbach        
observes1 'deserved to have been        
pensioned by the ,east ,india ,company  
for his services1' tea is the best1 nay1
 the only remedy for correcting         
viscidity of the blood1 the source of   
all diseases1 and for dissipating the   
acid of the stomach1 as it contains a   
fine oleaginous volatile salt1 and      

certain subtle spirits which are        
analogous in their nature to the animal 
spirits4 ,tea fortifies the memory and  
all the intellectual faculties3 it will 
therefore furnish the most effectual    
means of improving physical education4  
,against fever there is no better remedy
 than forty or fifty cups of tea1       
swallowed immediately after one another1
 the slime of the pancreas is thus      
carried off4  ,another physician derived
 all his diseases from a redundancy or  
deficiency of fire and water4 ,he       
maintained that where the water         
predominated1 the fluids became viscid1 
and that hence arose intermittent fevers
 and arthritic complaints4 ,his remedies
 are in strict conformity to his theory4
 ,these diseases are to be cured by     
volatile salts1 which abound with fiery 
particles2 venesection in any case is   
highly pernicious2 these fiery medicines
 are the only efficacious remedies1 and 
are to be employed even in diseases of  
the most inflammatory nature4 ,life1    

says ,dr4 ,brown1 is a forced state2 it 
is a flame kept alive by excitement2    
every thing stimulates2 some substances 
too violently2 others not sufficiently2 
there are thus two kinds of debility1   
indirect and direct1 and to one or other
 of these causes must be referred the   
origin of all diseases4 ,according to   
this doctrine1 the mode of cure is      
simple3 we have nothing to do but to    
supply1 to moderate or to abstract      
stimuli4 ,typhus fever1 in this system1 
is a disease of extreme debility2 we    
must therefore give the strongest       
stimulants4 ,consumption and apoplexy1  
also1 are diseases of debility2 of      
course1 the remedies are active         
stimulants4 ,humanity shudders1 and with
 reason1 at the application of such     
doctrines to practice4 ,and not less    
destitute of reason1 and not less       
dangerous in practice1 is the great     
doctrine of debility promulgated by     
,cullen4 ,this celebrated professor     
taught1 that the circumstance which     

invariably characterised fever1 that    
which constituted its essence1 was      
debility4 ,the inference was obvious1   
that1 above all things1 the strength    
must be supported4 ,the consequence was1
 that blood-letting was neglected1 and  
that bark and wine were given in immense
 quantities1 in cases in which intense  
inflammation existed4 ,the practice was 
in the highest degree mortal2 the number
 of persons who have perished in        
consequence of this doctrine is         
incalculable4 ,so far then is it from   
being true1 that medical theories are of
 no practical importance1 there is the  
closest possible connection between the 
speculations of the physician in his    
closet1 and the measures which he adopts
 at the bed side of his patient4 ,truth 
to him is a benignant power1 which stops
 the progress of disease1 protracts the 
duration of life1 and mitigates the     
suffering it may be unable to remove3   
error is a fearfully active and         
tremendously potent principle4 ,there is

 not a medical prejudice which has not  
slain its thousands1 nor a false theory 
which has not immolated its tens of     
thousands4 ,the system of medicine and  
surgery which is established in any     
country1 has a greater influence over   
the lives of its inhabitants than the   
epidemic diseases produced by its       
climate1 or the decisions of its        
government concerning peace and war4    
,the devastations of the yellow fever   
will bear no comparison with the ravages
 committed by the ,brunonian system2 and
 the slaughter of the field of ,waterloo
 counts not of victims1 a tithe of the  
number of which the ,cullenian doctrine 
of debility can justly boast4 ,anatomy  
alone will not teach a physician to     
think1 much less to think justly2 but it
 will give him the elements of thinking2
 it will furnish him with the means of  
correcting his errors2 it will certainly
 save him from some delusions1 and will 
afford to the public the best shield    
against his ignorance1 which may be     

fatal1 and against his presumption1     
which may be devastating4  ,we have     
entered into this minute detail at the  
hazard1 we are aware1 of tiring the     
reader2 but in the hope of leaving on   
his mind a more distinct impression of  
the importance of anatomical knowledge1 
than could possibly be produced by a    
mere allusion to the circumstances which
 have been explained4 ,in all ages1     
formidable obstacles have opposed the   
prosecution of anatomical               
investigations4 ,among these1 without   
doubt1 the most powerful has its source 
in a feeling which is natural to the    
heart of man4 ,the sweetest1 the most   
sacred associations are indissolubly    
connected with the person of those we   
love4 ,it is with the corporeal frame   
that our senses have been familiar3 it  
is that on which we have gazed with     
rapture2 it is that which has so often  
been the medium of conveying to our     
hearts the thrill of exstacy4 ,we cannot
 separate the idea of the peculiarities 

and actions of a friend from the idea of
 his person4 ,it is for this reason that
 every thing which has been associated  
with him acquires a value from that     
consideration2 his ring1 his watch1 his 
books1 and his habitation4 ,the value of
 these as having been his1 is not merely
 fictitious2 they have an empire over my
 mind2 they can make me happy or        
unhappy2 they can torture and they can  
tranquilize2 they can purify my         
sentiments1 and make me similar to the  
man ,i love2 they possess the virtue    
which the ,indian is said to attribute  
to the spoils of him he kills1 and      
inspire me with the power1 the feelings1
 and the heart of their preceding       
master4 ,it is nothing1 says the        
survivor1 to tell me1 when disease      
completed its work and death has seized 
its prey1 that that body1 with which are
 connected so many delightful           
sensations1 is a senseless mass of      
matter3 that it is no longer my friend2 
that the spirit which animated it1 and  

rendered it lovely to my sight and dear 
to my affections1 is gone4 ,i know that 
it is gone1 ,i know that ,i never more  
shall see the light of intelligence     
brighten that countenance1 nor          
benevolence beam in that eye1 nor the   
voice of affection sound from those     
lips3 that which ,i loved1 and which    
loved me1 is not here3 but here are     
still the features of my friend3 this is
 his form1 and the very particles of    
matter which compose this dull mass1 a  
few hours ago were a real part of him1  
and ,i cannot separate them1 in my      
imagination1 from him4 ,and ,i approach 
them with the profounder reverence2 ,i  
gaze upon them with the deeper          
affection1 because they are all that    
remain to me4 ,i would give all that ,i 
possess to purchase the art of          
preserving the wholesome character and  
rosy hue of this form1 that it might be 
my companion still3 but this is         
impossible3 ,i cannot detain it from the
 tomb3 but when ,i have cast a heap of  

mould upon the person of my friend1 and 
taken the cold earth for its keeper1 ,i 
visit the spot in which it is deposited 
with awe3 it is sacred to my            
imagination3 it is dear to my heart4    
,there is a real and deep foundation for
 these feelings in human nature3 they   
arise spontaneously in the bosom of man1
 and we see their expression and their  
power in the customs of all nations1    
savage as well as civilized1 and in the 
conduct of all men1 the most ignorant   
and uncultivated no less than the most  
intelligent and refined4 ,it has been   
the policy of society to foster these   
sentiments4 ,if has been conceived that 
the sanctity which attaches to the dead1
 is reflected back in a profounder      
feeling of respect for the living2 that 
the solemnity with which death is       
regarded1 elevates1 in the general      
estimation1 the value of life2 and that 
he who cannot approach the mortal       
remains of a fellow creature without an 
emotion of awe1 must regard with horror 

every thing which places in danger the  
life of a human being4 ,religion has    
contributed indirectly1 but powerfully1 
to the strength and perpetuity of these 
impressions2 and superstition has       
availed herself of them to play her     
antics1 and to accomplish her base and  
malignant purposes4 ,it is not the      
eradication of these feelings that can  
be desired1 but their control3 it is not
 the extinction of these natural and    
useful emotions that is pleaded for1 but
 they should give way to higher         
considerations when these exist4        
,veneration for the dead is connected   
with the noblest and sweetest sympathies
 of our nature3 but the promotion of the
 happiness of the living is a duty from 
which we can never be exonerated4  ,in  
antient times the voice of reason could 
not be heard4 ,superstition1 and customs
 founded on superstition1 excited an    
influence which was neither to be       
resisted nor evaded4 ,dissection was    
then regarded with horror4 ,in the warm 

countries of the east1 the pursuit must 
have been highly offensive and even     
dangerous1 and it was absolutely        
incompatible with the notions and       
ceremonies universally prevalent in     
those days4 ,the ,jewish tenet of       
pollution must have formed an           
insuperable obstacle to the cultivation 
of anatomy amongst that people4 ,by the 
,egyptians1 every one who cut open a    
dead body was regarded with             
inexpressible horror4 ,the ,grecian     
philosophers so far overcame the        
prejudice1 as occasionally to engage in 
the pursuit1 and the first dissection on
 record was one made by ,democritus of  
,abdera1 the friend of ,hippocrates1 in 
order to discover the course of the     
bile4 ,the ,romans contributed nothing  
to the progress of the art3 they were   
content with propitiating the ,deities  
who presided over health and disease4   
,they erected on the ,palatine ,mount a 
temple to the goddess ,febris1 whom they
 worshipped from a dread of her power4  

,they also sacrificed to the goddess    
,ossipaga1 who1 it seems1 presided over 
the growth of the bones1 and to another 
styled ,carna1 who took care of the     
viscera1 and to whom they offered bean  
broth and bacon1 because these were the 
most nutritious articles of diet4 ,the  
,arabians adopted the ,jewish notion of 
pollution1 and were thus prohibited by  
the tenets of their religion from       
practising dissection4 ,abdollaliph1 who
 flourished about the year #abjj1 a man 
of learning and a teacher of anatomy1   
never saw and never thought of a human  
dissection4 ,in order to examine and    
demonstrate the bones1 he took his      
students to burying grounds1 and        
earnestly recommended them1 instead of  
reading books1 to adopt that method of  
study3 yet he seemed to have no         
conception that the dissection of a     
recent subject might be a still better  
method of learning4 ,christians were    
equally hostile to dissection4 ,pope    
,boniface the #hth issued a bull        

prohibiting even the maceration and     
preparation of skeletons4 ,the priests  
were the only physicians1 and so greatly
 did they abuse the office they assumed1
 that the evil at length became too     
intolerable to be borne4 ,the church    
itself was obliged to prohibit the      
priesthood from interfering with the    
practice of medicine4 ,all monks and    
canons who applied themselves to physic1
 were threatened with severe penalties1 
and all bishops1 abbots1 and priors who 
connived at their misconduct1 were      
ordered to be suspended from their      
ecclesiastical functions4 ,but it was   
not till three hundred years after this 
interdiction1 that by a special bull    
which permitted physicians to marry1    
their complete separation from the      
clergy was effected4  ,in the #adth     
century1 ,mundinus1 professor at        
,bologna1 astonished the world by the   
public dissection of two human bodies4  
,in the #aeth century1 ,leonardo da     
,vinci contributed essentially to the   

progress of the art1 by the introduction
 of anatomical plates1 which were       
admirably executed4 ,in the #afth       
century1 the ,emperor1 ,charles the     
#eth1 ordered a consultation to be held 
by the divines of ,salamanca1 to        
determine whether it was lawful1 in     
point of conscience1 to dissect a dead  
body in order to learn its structure4   
,in the #agth century1 ,cortesius1      
professor of anatomy at ,bologna1 and   
afterwards professor of medicine at     
,messina1 had long begun a treatise on  
practical anatomy1 which he had an      
earnest desire to finish1 but so great  
was the difficulty of prosecuting the   
study even in ,italy1 that in #bd years 
he could only twice procure an          
opportunity of dissecting a human body1 
and even then with difficulty and in    
hurry2 whereas1 he had expected to have 
done so1 he says1 once every year1      
according to the custom of the famous   
academies of ,italy4 ,in ,muscovy1 until
 very lately1 both anatomy and the use  

of skeletons were positively forbidden2 
the first as inhuman1 and the latter as 
subservient to witchcraft4 ,even the    
illustrious ,luther was so biassed by   
the prejudices of his age1 that he      
ascribed the majority of the diseases to
 the arts of the devil1 and found great 
fault with physicians when they         
attempted to account for them by natural
 causes4 ,england acquired the bad fame 
of being the country of witches1 and    
opposed almost insuperable obstacles to 
the cultivation of anatomy4 ,even at    
present the prejudices of the people on 
this subject are violent and deeply     
rooted4 ,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 dissection4 ,in  
this country1 there is no other method  
of obtaining subjects but that of       
exhumation3 aversion to this employment 
may be pardoned3 dislike to the persons 
who engage in it is natural1 but to     

regard them with detestation1 to exult  
in their punishment1 to determine for   
themselves its nature and measure1 and  
to endeavor to assume the power of      
inflicting it with their own hands1 is  
absurd4 ,magistrates have too often     
fostered the prejudices of the people1  
and afforded them the means of executing
 their vengeance on the objects of their
 aversion4 ,the press has uniformly     
allied itself with the ignorance and    
violence of the vulgar1 and has done    
every thing in its power to inflame the 
passions1 which it was its duty to      
endeavor to soothe4 ,it is notorious    
that the winter before last there was   
scarcely a week in which the papers did 
not contain the most exaggerated and    
disgusting statements3 the appetite     
which could be gratified with such      
representations1 was sufficiently       
degraded3 but still more base was the   
servility which could pander to it4     
,half a century ago there was in        
,scotland no difficulty in obtaining the

 subjects which were necessary to supply
 the schools of anatomy4 ,the           
consequence was1 that medicine and      
surgery assumed new life--started from  
the torpor in which they had been       
spell-bound--and made an immediate1 and 
rapid1 and brilliant progress4 ,the new 
seminaries constantly sent into the     
world men of the most splendid          
abilities1 at once demonstrating the    
excellence of the schools in which they 
were educated1 and rendering them       
illustrious4 ,pupils flocked to them    
from all quarters of the globe1 and they
 essentially contributed to that        
advancement of science which the present
 age has witnessed4 ,in the #aith       
century1 the good people of ,scotland1  
that intelligent1 that cool and         
calculating1 that most reasonable and   
thinking people1 have thought proper to 
return to the worst feeling and the     
worst conduct of the darkest periods of 
antiquity4 ,there is at present no      
offence whatever1 which seems to have   

such power to heat and exalt into a kind
 of torrent1 the blood which usually    
flows so calmly and sluggishly in the   
veins of a ,scotchman4 ,the people of   
#ahbc 7to compare great things with     
small7 emulate the spirit of those of   
their forefathers who were out in the   
forty-five2 the object1 to be sure1 is  
somewhat different1 but it is amusing to
 see the intensity and seriousness of   
the excitement4 ,about twelve months ago
 an honest farmer of the name of ,scott1
 who resides at ,linlithgow1 apprehended
 a poor wight who was pursuing his      
vocation1 we presume1 in the churchyard 
of that place2 and this service appeared
 so meritorious to the people in his    
neighborhood1 that they absolutely      
presented him with a piece of plate4 ,in
 the winter sessions of #ahbb-c1 a body 
was discovered on its way to the        
lecture-room of an anatomist in         
,glasgow1 and in spite of the exertions 
of the police1 aided by those of the    
military1 this gentleman's premises and 

their contents1 which were valuable1    
were entirely destroyed by the mob4 ,for
 some time after this achievement1 it   
was necessary to station a military     
guard at the houses of all the medical  
professors in that city4 ,in the spring 
circuit of the justiciary court last    
year at ,stirling1 while the judges were
 proceeding to the court1 the procession
 was assaulted with missiles2 several   
persons were injured1 and it was        
necessary to call in the protection of a
 military force4 ,the object of the mob 
was to inflict summary punishment on a  
man who was about to be tried for the   
exhumation of a body4 ,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 connections1 who 
was in fact expatriated1 and whose      
prospects in life were entirely changed1
 if not ruined1 because he had too much 
honor to implicate his instructors in a 
transaction which would have put them to

 an inconvenience1 and in which they had
 engaged from a desire faithfully to    
discharge their duty to their pupils4   
,within the last five years three men   
were lodged in the county jail at       
,haddington1 charged with a trespass in 
the churchyard of that town4 ,so enraged
 was the mob against them1 that an      
attempt was made to force the jail in   
order to get at them4 ,on their way to  
the court1 the men were again attacked1 
forced from the carriage1 and severely  
maimed4 ,after examination they were    
admitted to bail2 but1 when set at      
liberty1 they were assailed with more   
violence than ever1 and were nearly     
killed4 ,on the #bith of ,june1 #ahbc1  
being ,sunday1 a most extraordinary     
outrage was perpetrated in the streets  
of ,edinburgh4 ,a coach containing an   
empty coffin and two men1 was observed  
proceeding along the south bridge4 ,the 
people suspecting that it was intended  
to convey a body taken from some        
churchyard1 seized the coach4 ,it was   

with difficulty that the police         
protected the men from the assaults of  
the populace3 the coach they had no     
power to preserve4 ,the horses were     
taken from it1 and together with the    
coffin1 after having been trundled a    
mile and a half through the streets of  
the city1 it was deliberately projected 
over the steep side of the mound1 and   
smashed into a thousand pieces4 ,the    
people following it to the bottom1      
kindled a fire with its fragments1 and  
surrounded it like the savages in       
,robinson ,crusoe1 till it was entirely 
consumed4 ,in this case there was no    
foundation for their suspicions4 ,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 near the neighborhood4 ,a      
similar assault was some time ago made  
on two ,american gentlemen1 who went to 
visit the abbey of ,linlithgow after    
nightfall4 ,the churchyards of the gude 
,scots are now strictly guarded by men  

and dogs2 watch-towers are erected      
within the grounds1 and mort-safes1 as  
they are called1 that is to say1 strong 
iron frames are deposited in the ground 
over the graves4 ,these people sometimes
 declare that they will put an end to   
anatomy1 and certainly they are         
succeeding in the accomplishment of this
 menace as rapidly as they can well     
desire4 ,the average number of medical  
students in ,edinburgh is #gjj each     
session4 ,for several years past the    
difficulty of procuring subjects in that
 place has been so great1 that out of   
all that number1 not more than #aej or  
#bjj have ever attempted to dissect2 and
 even these have latterly been so       
opposed in their endeavours to prosecute
 their studies1 that many of them have  
left the place in disgust4 ,we have been
 informed by a friend1 that he alone was
 personally acquainted with twenty      
individuals who retired from it at the  
beginning of last session1 and who went 
to pursue their studies at ,dublin1 and 

we know that vast numbers followed their
 example at the end of the winter       
course4 ,the medical school at          
,edinburgh1 in fact1 is now subsisting  
entirely on its past reputation2 in the 
course of a few years it will be        
entirely at an end1 unless the system be
 changed4 ,let those who have the       
prosperity of the university at heart1  
and who have the power to protect it1   
consider this before it be too late3    
they may be assured it is no idle       
prediction2 for we give them notice1    
that it is at this moment the universal 
opinion and the current language of     
every well-informed medical man in      
,england4  ,an excellent system of      
anatomical plates1 which has been well  
received by the profession1 has lately  
been published by ,mr4 ,lizars1 a       
lecturer on anatomy and physiology1 in  
,edinburgh4 ,this gentleman states that 
he has been induced to undertake this   
work1 in order to obviate the most fatal
 consequences to the public2 as far1 at 

least1 as a reference to art1 instead of
 nature1 is capable of obviating those  
consequences4 ,he affirms1 that the     
difficulty of obtaining instruction from
 nature has risen to such a pitch1 owing
 to the extraordinary severity exercised
 by the legal authorities of the kingdom
 against persons employed in procuring  
subjects for dissection1 as to threaten 
the ultimate destruction of medical and 
anatomical science4 ,in his preface to  
the second part of his work1 he         
apologizes to his readers for dividing  
one portion of it from another1 with    
which it ought to have been connected2  
but states that he has been compelled to
 do so from the prejudices of the place1
 which prevented him for upwards of five
 months1 from procuring a subject from  
which he might make his drawings4 ,in   
place of living1 he says1 in a civilized
 and enlightened period1 we appear as if
 we had been thrown back some centuries 
into the dark ages of ignorance1 bigotry
 and superstition4 ,prejudices1 worthy  

only of the multitude1 have been        
conjured up and appealed to1 in order to
 call forth popular indignation against 
those whose business it is to exhibit   
demonstratively the structure of the    
human body1 and the functions of its    
different organs4 ,the public journals1 
from a vicious propensity to pander to  
the vulgar appetite for excitement1 have
 raked up and industriously circulated  
stories of exhumation of dead bodies1   
tending to exasperate and inflame the   
passions of the mob2 and persons who1 by
 their own showing1 are friendly to the 
interests of science1 have1 in the      
excess of their zeal that bodies should 
remain undisturbed in their progress to 
decomposition1 laboured to destroy in   
this country1 that art1 whose province  
it is to free living bodies from the    
consequences inseparable from accident  
and disease4 ,and1 which is worst of    
all1 the prejudices of the multitude    
have been confirmed and rendered        
inveterate by the proceedings in our    

courts of justice1 which have visited   
with the punishment due only to felons1 
the unhappy persons necessarily employed
 in the present state of the law1 in    
procuring subjects for the              
dissecting-room4  ,he then goes on to   
state1 that until anatomy be publicly   
sanctioned in ,edinburgh1 the school of 
medicine there can never flourish2 that 
upon the present system1 young men      
obtain a degree or a diploma after a    
year or two of grinding1 that is1 of    
learning by rote the answers to the     
questions which the examiners are in the
 habit of putting to the candidates2    
that ignorant of the very elements of   
their profession1 numbers of persons    
thus educated annually1 go to the ,east 
and ,west ,indies1 and to the army and  
navy1 where they have the charge of     
hundreds of their suffering fellow      
creatures1 to whom they are in fact the 
instruments of cruelty and murder4 ,in  
the preface to the #dth ,part1 he adds1 
that when ,part ,,ii4 was published1 in 

the early part of the session1 he took  
occasion to express his sorrow for the  
degraded state of his profession1 and   
the threatened ruin of the ,medical     
,school of his native place1 owing to   
the scarcity of subjects3 ,that1 for    
doing this1 he has incurred considerable
 censure3 that he regrets that he has   
yet found no reason to alter his        
opinion1 for the winter session is now  
near its conclusion1 and1 he candidly   
declares1 that such has been the        
scarcity of material1 that no teacher of
 anatomy or surgery has been able either
 to follow the regular plan of his      
course1 or to do his duty to his pupils2
 the consequence of which has been1 that
 many of the students have left the     
school in disgust1 and gone either to   
,dublin or ,paris2 while a still greater
 number1 deprived of the means of       
dissecting1 have contented themselves   
with lectures or theories1 and with     
grinding2 and entered on the practice of
 their profession ignorant of its       

fundamental principles4  ,much of this  
opposition on the part of the people1   
arises from the present mode of         
procuring subjects4 ,fortunately1 there 
is in ,great ,britain no custom1 no     
superstition1 no law1 and we may add1 no
 prejudice1 against anatomy itself4     
,there is even a general conviction of  
its necessity2 there may be a feeling   
that it is a repulsive employment1 but  
it is commonly acknowledged that it must
 not be neglected4 ,the opposition which
 is made1 is made not against anatomy1  
but against the practice of exhumation3 
and this is a practice which ought to be
 opposed4 ,it is in the highest degree  
revolting2 it would be disgraceful to a 
horde of savages2 every feeling of the  
human heart rises up against it3 so long
 as no other means of procuring bodies  
for dissection are provided1 it must be 
tolerated2 but1 in itself1 it is alike  
odious to the ignorant and the          
enlightened1 to the most uncultivated   
and the most refined4  ,but the capital 

objection to this practice is1 that it  
necessarily creates a crime1 and        
educates a race of                      
criminals4--,exhumation is forbidden by 
the law4 ,it is1 indeed1 prohibited by  
no statute1 either in ,england or       
,scotland3 in both1 it is an offence    
punishable at common law4 ,there is a   
statute of ,james the first1 which makes
 it felony to steal a dead body for the 
purpose of witchcraft2 there is none    
against taking a body for the purpose of
 dissection4 ,in the case of the ,king  
against ,lynn 7#aghh71 the court decided
 that the body being taken for the      
latter purpose1 did not make it less an 
indictable offence2 and that it is      
without doubt cognizable in a criminal  
court1 because it is an act highly      
indecent1 at the bare idea of which     
nature revolts4 ,it is punishable1      
therefore1 by fine or imprisonment1 or  
both3 ,in ,scotland1 it is also         
punishable by whipping1 and even by     
transportation4  ,we expected better    

things of ,america4 ,we cannot express  
our astonishment and indignation1 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 dissection1 without  
providing in any other mode for the     
schools of anatomy4 ,this is worse than 
any thing that exists in any other part 
of the world4 ,if these pages should    
meet the eye of any of our ,american    
brethren1 we intreat them to read with  
attention1 the facts which have been    
stated in the former part of this       
article1 and to consider with           
seriousness the mischief they are doing4
 ,it will not be believed in ,england1  
that such scenes could have been        
witnessed in ,america1 as were actually 
exhibited there scarcely a month ago4   
,to satisfy our readers1 however1 that  
we do not misrepresent the state of     
things in that country1 we transcribe   
the following accounts from ,the ,new   
,york ,evening ,post1 of ,may #bjth4 ,at

 the late ,court of ,sessions1 ,solomon 
,parmeli was indicted for a misdemeanor1
 in entering ,potter's ,field1 and      
removing the covers of two coffins      
deposited in a pit1 and covered partly  
with earth4 ,the statute of this state  
making it a felony1 to dig up or remove 
a dead human body with intent to dissect
 it1 did not embrace this case2 because 
the prisoner had not dug up or removed  
the body4 ,mr4 ,schureman1 the present  
keeper of ,potter's ,field1 suspected   
that some person had entered it for the 
purpose of removing the dead2 and1 after
 sending for two watchmen1 and calling  
his faithful dog1 he went to ascertain  
the fact4 ,on arriving at the grave1 he 
found his suspicion confirmed2 and      
requested the person concealed in the   
pit1 to come out and show himself3 no   
answer being given1 ,mr4 ,schureman sent
 his dog into the pit1 and in the       
twinkling of an eye a tall stout fellow 
made his appearance1 and took to his    
heels across the field4 ,the night being

 dark1 he might have effected his       
escape1 had it not been for the sagacity
 and courage of the dog1 who pursued him
 for some distance1 but at last came up 
with him1 seized and held him fast1     
until the arrival of ,mr4 ,schureman and
 the watchmen1 who secured him4 ,the    
jury convicted the prisoner1 and the    
court sentenced him to six months'      
imprisonment in the ,penitentiary4 ,the 
young gentlemen attending the ,medical  
,school of this city1 will take warning 
by this man's fate4 ,they may rest      
assured1 that the keeper of ,potter's   
,field will do his duty1 and public     
justice will be executed on any man1    
whatever may be his condition in life1  
who is found violating the law1 and the 
decency of ,christian burial6 ,the same 
paper gives the following account of a  
transaction1 which took place at        
,hartford1 in ,connecticut1 ,may #ag4   
,yesterday morning1 two ladies were     
taking a walk in the ,south burying     
ground1 when they discovered a          

tape-string1 and a piece of cloth1 which
 upon examination was found to be the   
piece that was laced upon ,miss ,jane   
,benton's face1 who came to her death by
 drowning1 and was buried a few days    
since4 ,the ladies then went to the     
grave1 and found that it had been       
disturbed--that she was taken out of her
 coffin1 and a rope around her neck4    
,the circumstance has produced great    
excitement in the public mind2 and every
 one is on the alert to discover the    
perpetrators of this unfeeling1 brutal  
act4 ,the citizens turned out in a body 
yesterday1 and interred the corpse      
again6  ,these scenes are highly        
disgraceful1 and disgraceful to all1    
though not alike to all parties4 ,we do 
not blame the ,americans for abolishing 
the practice of exhumation2 but we blame
 them for stopping there4 ,we maintain1 
that it is both absurd and criminal1 to 
make this practice felony1 without      
providing in some other method for the  
cultivation of anatomy4  ,in ,great     

,britain1 the law against the practice  
of exhumation is not allowed to slumber4
 ,there may be other cases which have   
not come to our knowledge2 but we have  
ascertained that there have been #ad    
convictions for ,england alone1 during  
the last year4 ,the punishments         
inflicted have been imprisonment for    
various periods1 with fines of different
 sums4 ,the fines in general are heavy1 
considering the poverty of the          
offenders4 ,several persons are1 at this
 moment1 suffering these penalties2     
among others1 there is now in the gaol  
of ,st4 ,alban's1 a man who was         
sentenced for this offence to two years'
 imprisonment1 and a fine of twenty     
pounds4 ,the period of his confinement  
has expired some time2 but he still     
remains in prison1 on account of his    
inability to pay the fine4#a ,since the 
passing of the new ,vagrant act1 it has 
been the common practice to commit these
 offenders to hard labour for various   
periods4 ,very lately1 two men1         

convicted of this offence1 were sent to 
the ,tread ,mill1 in ,cold ,bath        
,fields2 one of whom died in one month  
after his commitment4 ,it is an error to
 suppose that these punishments operate 
to prevent exhumation2 their only effect
 is to raise the price of subjects3 a   
little reflection will show that they   
can have no other operation4 ,at        
present1 exhumation is the only method  
by which subjects for dissection can be 
procured2 but subjects for this purpose 
must be procured3 and be the            
difficulties what they may1 will be     
procured3 diseases will occur1          
operations must be performed1 medical   
men must be educated1 anatomy must be   
studied1 dissections must go on4 ,unless
 some other means for affording a supply
 be adopted2 whatever be the law or the 
popular feeling1 neither magistrates1   
nor judges1 nor juries1 will1 or can1   
put an entire stop to the practice4 ,it 
is one1 which1 from the absolute        
necessity of the case1 must be allowed4 

,what is the consequence8 ,so long as   
the practice of exhumation continues1 a 
race of men must be trained up to       
violate the law4 ,these men must go out 
in company for the purpose of nightly   
plunder1 and plunder of the most odious 
kind1 tending in a peculiar and most    
alarming measure to brutify the mind1   
and to eradicate every feeling and      
sentiment worthy of a man4 ,this        
employment becomes a school in which men
 are trained for the commission of the  
most daring and inhuman crimes4 ,its    
operation is similar1 but much worse    
than the nightly banding to violate the 
game laws1 because there is something in
 the violation of the grave1 which tends
 still more to degrade the character and
 to harden the heart4 ,this offence is  
connived at2 nay1 it is rewarded2 these 
men are absolutely paid to violate the  
law2 and paid by men of reputation and  
influence in society4 ,the transition is
 but too easy to the commission of other
 offences in the hope of similar        

connivance1 if not of similar reward4   
,it is an odious thing that the teachers
 of anatomy should be brought into      
contact with such men3 that they should 
be obliged to employ them1 and that they
 should even be in their power2 which   
they are to such a degree1 that they are
 obliged to bear with the wantonness of 
their tyranny and insult4 ,all the      
clamour against these men1 all the      
punishment inflicted on them1 only      
operate to raise the premium on the     
repetition of their offence4 ,this      
premium the teachers of anatomy are     
obliged to pay1 which these men         
perfectly understand1 who do not at all 
dislike the opposition which is made to 
their vocation4 ,it gives them no       
unreasonable pretext for exorbitancy in 
their demands4 ,in general1 they are men
 of infamous character2 some of them are
 thieves1 others are the companions and 
abettors of thieves4 ,almost all of them
 are extremely destitute4 ,when         
apprehended for the offence in question1

 the teachers of anatomy are obliged to 
pay the expenses of the trial1 and to   
support their families while they are in
 prison3 whence the idea of immunity is 
associated1 in these men's minds1 with  
the violation of the law1 and when they 
do happen to incur its penalties1 they  
practically find that they and their    
families are provided for1 and this     
provision comes to them in the shape of 
a reward for the commission of their    
offence4 ,the operation of such a system
 on the minds of the individuals        
themselves is exceedingly pernicious1   
and is not a little dangerous to the    
community4  ,moreover1 by the method of 
exhumation1 the supply after all is     
scanty2 it is never adequate to the     
wants of the schools2 it is of necessity
 precarious1 and it sometimes fails     
altogether for several months4 ,but it  
is of the utmost importance that it     
should be abundant1 regular1 and        
cheap4--,the number of young men who    
come annually to ,london for the purpose

 of studying medicine and surgery1 may  
be about a thousand4 ,their expenses are
 necessarily very considerable while in 
town2 they have already paid a large sum
 for their apprenticeship in the        
country2 the circumstances of country   
practitioners1 in general1 can but ill  
afford protracted expenses for their    
sons in ,london2 few of them stay a     
month longer than the time prescribed by
 the ,college of ,surgeons4 ,but the    
short period they spend in ,london1 is  
the only time they have for acquiring   
the knowledge of their profession4 ,if  
they mispend these precious hours1 or if
 the means of employing them properly be
 denied them1 they must necessarily     
remain ignorant for life4 ,after they   
leave ,london they have no means of     
dissecting4 ,we have seen that it is by 
dissecting alone1 that they can make    
themselves acquainted even with the     
principles of their art2 that without it
 they cannot so much as avail themselves
 of the opportunities of improvement1   

which experience itself may offer1 nor1 
without the highest temerity1 perform a 
single operation4 ,we have seen that    
occasions suddenly occur1 which require 
the prompt performance of important and 
difficult operations2 we have seen that 
unless such operations are performed    
immediately1 and with the utmost skill1 
life is inevitably lost4 ,in many such  
cases1 there is no time to send for     
other assistance4 ,if a country         
practitioner 7and most of these young   
men go to the country7 be not himself   
capable of doing what is proper to be   
done1 the death of the patient is       
certain4 ,we put it to the reader to    
imagine what the feelings of an         
ingenuous young man must be1 who is     
aware of what he ought to do1 but who is
 conscious that his knowledge is not    
sufficient to authorise him to attempt  
to perform it1 and who sees his patient 
die before him1 when he knows that he   
might be saved1 and that it would have  
been in his own power to save him1 had  

he been properly educated4 ,we put it to
 the reader to conceive what his own    
sensations would be1 were an ignorant   
surgeon1 with a rashness more fatal than
 the criminal modesty of the former1 to 
undertake an important                  
operation--,suppose it were a tumor1    
which turned out to be an aneurism2     
suppose it were a hernia1 in operating  
on which the epigastric artery were     
divided1 or the intestine itself        
wounded3 suppose it were his mother1 his
 wife1 his sister1 his child1 whom he   
thus saw perish before his eyes1 what   
would the reader then think of the      
prejudice which withholds from the      
surgeon that information1 without which 
the practice of his profession is       
murder8  ,the study of anatomy is a     
severe and laborious study2 the practice
 of dissection is on many accounts      
highly repulsive3 it is even not without
 danger to life itself4#b ,to men of    
clear understandings1 to those          
especially of a philosophical turn of   

mind1 the pursuit is its own reward2    
they are so fully satisfied1 that the   
more it is cultivated the more          
satisfaction it will afford1 that they  
need no stimulus to induce them to      
undergo the drudgery4 ,but this is by no
 means the case with ordinary minds4    
,the fatigue and disgust of the         
dissecting-room1 are appalling to them1 
and they need the stimulus of necessity 
to urge them to the task4 ,the court of 
examiners of the ,college of ,surgeons1 
requires from the candidates for        
surgical diplomas certificates that they
 have gone through at least two courses 
of dissections2 the examiners at        
,apothecaries'-hall do not require such 
certificates4 ,the consequence is1 that 
many young men content themselves with  
attending lectures1 and with passing    
their examinations at                   
,apothecaries'-hall1 and do not apply   
for a diploma at the ,college of        
,surgeons4 ,this single fact is         
sufficient to demonstrate to the public1

 that instead of throwing obstacles in  
the way of dissection1 it is a duty     
which they owe to themselves to afford  
every possible facility to its practice1
 and to hold out to every member of the 
profession1 the most powerful           
inducements to engage in it1 by         
rewarding with confidence those who     
cultivate anatomy1 by making excellence 
in anatomy indispensable to all offices 
in dispensaries and hospitals1 and by   
thus rendering it impossible for any one
 who is ignorant of anatomy1 to obtain  
rank in his profession4 ,when a         
candidate presents himself for a diploma
 in ,denmark1 in his first trial he is  
put into a room with a subject1 a case  
of instruments1 and a memorandum1 and   
informed that he is to display the      
anatomy of the face and neck1 or that of
 the upper extremity or that of the     
lower extremity3 that by the anatomy is 
to be understood1 the blood-vessels1    
nerves1 and muscles2 and that as soon as
 he has accomplished his task1 the      

professors will attend his summons to   
judge of his attainments4 ,these        
professors are the true examiners6  ,we 
shall have entered into the discussion  
of this subject to little purpose1 if we
 have not produced in the minds of our  
readers a deep conviction1 that anatomy 
ought to form an essential part of      
medical education1 that anatomy cannot  
be studied without the practice of      
dissection2 that dissection cannot be   
practised without a supply of subjects1 
and that the manner in which that supply
 is obtained in ,england is detestable1 
and ought immediately to be changed4 ,it
 might be changed easily4 ,we agree with
 ,mr4 ,mackenzie1 that legislative      
interference is necessary2 we are       
satisfied that nothing will be done in  
,england without it4 ,the plan which    
,mr4 ,mackenzie suggests is as follows3 
#a4 ,that the clause of our criminal    
code1 by which the dissection of the    
dead body is made part of the punishment
 for murder1 be repealed4 #b4 ,that the 

exhumation of dead bodies be punishable 
as felony4 #c4 ,that no diploma in      
medicine or surgery1 be granted by any  
faculty1 college1 or university1 except 
to those persons who shall produce      
undoubted evidence of their having      
carefully dissected at least five human 
bodies4 #d4 ,that in each of the        
hospitals1 infirmaries1 work-houses1    
poor-houses1 foundling-houses1 houses of
 correction1 and prisons of ,london1    
,edinburgh1 ,glasgow1 and ,dublin1 and  
if need be1 of all other towns in ,great
 ,britain and ,ireland1 an apartment be 
appointed for the reception of the      
bodies of all persons dying in the said 
hospitals1 infirmaries1 work houses1    
poor-houses1 foundling-houses1 houses of
 correction1 and prisons1 unclaimed by  
immediate relatives1 or whose relatives 
decline to defray the expenses of       
interment4 #e4 ,that the bodies of all  
persons dying in these towns1 and1 if   
need be1 in all other towns1 and also in
 country parishes1 unclaimable by       

immediate relatives1 or whose relatives 
decline to defray the expenses of       
interment1 shall be conveyed to a       
mort-house appointed in the said towns  
for their reception4 #f4 ,that no dead  
bodies shall be delivered from any      
hospital1 infirmary1 work house1        
poor-house1 foundling-house1 house of   
correction1 prison1 or mort-house for   
anatomical purposes1 except upon the    
requisition of a member of the ,royal   
,college of ,physicians or of ,surgeons1
 of ,london1 ,edinburgh1 or ,dublin1 or 
of the ,faculty of ,physicians and      
,surgeons of ,glasgow1 and upon the     
payment of twenty shillings into the    
hands of the treasurer1 of the hospital1
 infirmary1 work-house1 poor-house1     
foundling-house1 house of correction1   
prison1 or other officer appointed to   
receive the same4 ,this is too large a  
sum4 #g4 ,that no dead body shall be    
conveyed from a hospital1 infirmary1    
work-house1 poor-house1 foundling-house1
 house of correction1 prison1 or        

mort-house1 to a school of anatomy1     
except in a covered bier1 and between   
the hours of four and six in the        
morning4 #h4 ,that after the expiration 
of twenty-eight days1 an officer        
appointed for this purpose1 in each of  
the four towns above-mentioned1 shall   
cause the remains of the dead to be     
placed in a coffin1 removed from the    
school of anatomy1 where the dead body  
has been examined1 to the mort-house of 
the town and decently buried4 #i4 ,that 
the expenses attending the execution of 
these regulations1 be defrayed out of   
fees paid by teachers and students of   
anatomy1 on receiving dead bodies from  
the hospitals1 infirmaries1 work-houses1
 poor houses1 foundling-houses1 houses  
of correction1 prisons1 and mort-houses4
  ,to this plan there is but one        
objection1 viz4 that it is making the   
bodies of the poor public property4 ,the
 answer is1 that the limitation in the  
proposed law1 which the objection does  
not notice1 entirely removes the weight 

of that objection4 ,though no maxim can 
be more indisputable than that those who
 are supported by the public die in its 
debt1 and that their remains at least1  
might1 without injustice1 be converted  
to the public use1 yet it is not        
proposed to dispose in this manner of   
the bodies of all the poor3 but only of 
that portion of the poor who die        
unclaimed and without friends1 and whose
 appropriation to this public service   
could1 therefore1 afford pain to no one4
 ,if any concession and co-operation on 
the part of the public1 for this great  
public object is to be expected1 and    
without concession and co-operation     
nothing can be done1 it is not easy to  
conceive of any plan which requires less
 public concession or implies less      
violation of public feeling4 ,in point  
of fact it would put no indignity1 it   
would inflict no injury on the poor2 it 
is the rejection of it that would really
 and practically be unjust and cruel4   
,the question is1 whether the surgeon   

shall be allowed to gain knowledge by   
operating on the bodies of the dead1 or 
driven to obtain it by practising on the
 bodies of the living4 ,if the dead     
bodies of the poor are not appropriated 
to this use1 their living bodies will   
and must be4 ,the rich will always have 
it in their power to select1 for the    
performance of an operation1 the surgeon
 who has already signalized himself by  
success3 but that surgeon1 if he have   
not obtained the dexterity which ensures
 success1 by dissecting and operating on
 the dead1 must have acquired it by     
making experiments on the living bodies 
of the poor4 ,there is no other means by
 which he can possibly have gained the  
necessary information4 ,every such      
surgeon who rises to eminence1 must have
 risen to it through the suffering which
 he has inflicted1 and the death which  
he has brought upon hundreds of the     
poor4 ,the effect of the entire         
abolition of the practice of dissecting 
the dead1 would be1 to convert          

poor-houses and public hospitals into so
 many schools where the surgeon1 by     
practising on the poor1 would learn to  
operate on the rich with safety and     
dexterity4 ,this would be the certain   
and inevitable result3 and this1 indeed1
 would be to treat them with real       
indignity1 and horrible injustice2 and  
proves1 how possible it is to show an   
apparent consideration for the poor1 and
 yet practically to treat them in the   
most injurious and cruel manner4  ,nor  
would the proposed plan be the means of 
deterring this class of people from     
entering the hospitals4 ,there is       
something reasonable in the apprehension
 on which this objection is founded3 but
 the answer to it is complete1 because  
it is an answer1 derived from           
experience1 to an objection1 which is   
merely a deduction from what is         
probable4 ,the plan has been acted on1  
and found to be unattended with this    
result3 it was tried in ,edinburgh1 and 
the hospital was as full as it is at    

present3 it is universally acted on in  
,france1 and the hospitals are always   
crowded4  ,the great advantages of the  
plan are1 that it would accomplish the  
proposed object1 easily and completely1 
whereas the plan in operation effects it
 imperfectly and with difficulty2 and it
 would put an immediate and entire stop 
to all the evils of the present system4 
,at once it would put an end to the     
needless education of daring and        
desperate violators of the law4 ,it     
would tranquillize the public mind4     
,their dead would rest undisturbed3 the 
sepulchre would be sacred3 and all the  
horrors which the imagination connects  
with its violation would cease for ever4
  ,we have stated1 that the plan has    
been tried4 ,experience has proved its  
efficacy4 ,it was adopted with perfect  
success in ,edinburgh more than a       
century ago4 ,in the ,council ,register 
for #afid1 it is recorded that all      
unclaimed dead bodies in the charitable 
institutions or in the streets1 were    

given for dissection to the ,college of 
,surgeons1 to one or two of its         
individual members1 and to the professor
 of anatomy4 ,this regulation1 at that  
period1 excited no opposition on the    
part of the people1 but effectually     
answered the desired object4 ,all the   
medical schools on the continent are    
supplied with subjects1 by public       
authority1 in a similar manner4 ,we have
 obtained from a friend in ,paris1 a    
gentleman who is at the head of the     
anatomical department in that city1 the 
following account of the manner in which
 the schools of anatomy are supplied4   
,it is stated2 #a4 ,that the faculty of 
medicine at ,paris is authorized to take
 from the civil hospitals1 from the     
prisons1 and from the depts of          
mendicity1 the bodies which are         
necessary for teaching anatomy4 #b4     
,that a gratuity of eight pence is given
 to the attendants in the hospitals for 
each body4 #c4 ,that upon the foundation
 by the ,national ,convention1 of       

schools of health1 the statutes of their
 foundation declare1 that the subjects  
necessary for the schools of anatomy    
shall be taken from the hospitals1 and  
that since this period1 the council of  
hospitals and the prefect of police1    
have always permitted the practice4 #d4 
,that ,m4 ,breschet1 chief of the       
anatomical department of the faculty of 
,paris1 sends a carriage daily to the   
different hospitals1 which brings back  
the necessary number of bodies3 that    
this number has sometimes amounted to   
#bjjj per annum for the faculty only1   
without reckoning those used in         
,l',hpital de la ,piti1 but that since  
the general attention which has recently
 been bestowed upon pathologic anatomy1 
numbers of bodies are opened in the     
civil and military hospitals1 and that  
the faculty seldom obtain more than     
#ajjj or #abjj4 #e4 ,that1 besides the  
dissections by the faculty of medicine1 
and those pursued in ,l',hpital de la   
,piti1 theatres of anatomy are opened in

 all the great hospitals1 for the pupils
 of those establishments3 that in these 
institutions anatomy is carefully       
taught1 and that pupils have all the    
facilities for dissection that can be   
desired4 #f4 ,that the price of a body  
varies from four shillings to eight     
shillings and sixpence4 #g4 ,that after 
dissection1 the bodies are wrapt in     
cloths1 and carried to the neighbouring 
cemetery1 where they are received for   
ten-pence4 #h4 ,that the practice of    
exhumation is abolished3 that there are 
insurmountable obstacles to the return  
of that system1 and that bodies are     
never taken from burial grounds1 without
 an order for exhumation1 which is given
 only when the tribunals require it for 
the purpose of medico-legal             
investigation4 #i4 ,that though the     
people have an aversion to the          
operations of dissection1 yet they never
 make any opposition to them1 provided  
respect be paid to the laws of decency  
and salubrity1 on account of the deep   

conviction that prevails of their       
utility1 #aj4 ,that the relatives of the
 deceased seldom or never oppose the    
opening of any body1 if the physicians  
desire it4 ,that all the medical        
students in ,france1 with scarcely any  
exception1 dissect1 and that that       
physician or surgeon who is not         
acquainted with anatomy1 is universally 
regarged as the most ignorant of men4   
,it is time that the physicians and     
surgeons of ,england1 should exert      
themselves to change a system which has 
so long retarded the progress of their  
science1 and been productive of so much 
evil to the community4 ,we are          
persuaded1 that there is good sense     
enough1 both in the people and in the   
legislature1 to listen to their         
representations4 ,we would advise them  
to avail themselves of the means they   
possess to communicate information to   
the people1 and to make individual      
members of parliament acquainted with   
the subject4 ,with this view we would   

recommend the whole body to act in      
concert1 to appoint a committee for     
conducting the matter1 and to petition  
parliament1 as soon as they shall have  
made the nature of their claims1 and the
 grounds on which they rest1 more       
generally known4 ,if they act in        
co-operation with each other1 and pursue
 their object temperately1 and steadily1
 we cannot but believe1 that their      
efforts at no distant period1 will be   
crowned with success4  ,,footnotes3  #a 
,since the above was written1 we have   
learned that this man has been recently 
liberated1 and his fine remitted4  #b ,a
 winter never passes without proving    
fatal to several students who die from  
injuries received in dissection4