Memoirs of John Abernethy / With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published

INDEX.

CHAPTER I.
	PAGE.
Retrospect	1
Progress of Discovery—Missions of individuals—Galileo, Bacon, Kepler	2
Berzelius, Davy, &c.—Combined effect	3
Difficulty of estimating individual efforts—Physiological laws	4
Meaning of events seldom seen at the time	5
Propose to point out the position occupied by Abernethy	ib.
Necessity of clearly seeing what is required	6
Medical science—False ideas on	7
Birth of Abernethy	8
Goes to School	9
CHAP. II.
Predictions often erroneous—Dryden, Swift, Sheridan, Niebuhr, Galileo, Newton, Wren	11
Individuality of Abernethy	12
Schoolfellows of Abernethy	13
School reminiscences	14
Mr. Thacker's letter	15
Leaves school for London	16
CHAP. III.
Of the choice of a profession	17
Of steadiness and industry	18
Abernethy's ready memory	19
Becomes a pupil in surgery	20
Apprenticed to Sir C. Blicke	22
Early indications	23
CHAP. IV.
Sir W. Blizard—His influence	25
Abernethy's view of anatomy	26
His gratitude to Sir William	27
How expressed—Quotation	28
Demonstrates for Sir W. Blizard	28
Mode of teaching anatomy described—Mr. Pott	30
CHAP. V.
A large London hospital	21
Elected Assistant Surgeon—Important epoch in his life	33
His position—Lectures in St. Bartholomew Close	34
Dr. Maclaurin, Dr. Marshall, Mr. Pott	ib.
His education as a lecturer	35
Of teaching too early	ib.
Its disadvantages—His lectures soon attractive—His arrangement	36
Impresses the importance of comparative anatomy	37
His labours—Zeal and industry—Early rising	38
Shyness of Abernethy	39
Theatre built in the hospital—His winter courses given in it, 1791—Thus the founder of the school in St. Bartholomew's	ib.
CHAP. VI.
Of change in all created things	41
Experiments	42
Grows vegetables in distilled water—Boyle, Fordyce—Tadpoles, observations on	43
Experiments on eggs, curious	44
On the ultimate particles of matter	44
Dissection of a whale	46
Of the absorbent vessels	47
Of glands or kernels	48
Curious cases	49

Combination of natural laws	50
Dissection—How formerly supplied	51
Curious position of heart and liver	52
Of the public aversion to the inspection of the dead	53
CHAP. VII.
Of painless diseases	56
Of insidious maladies	ib.
Of his essay on lumbar abscess, &c.—Of his plan	57
How misunderstood	58
Misinterpreted by Sir A. Cooper	59
Real objects of his plan	60
Suggested by an accident	ib.
CHAP. VIII.
His paper on the skin and lungs	61
Of the progress of chemistry	62
Objects of his inquiry	64
Of the uses of the lungs	65
Consequences, if mistaken	ib.
Of the coverings of animals	66
Of the clothing of birds	67
Of breathing by the skin	68
Leaves, the lungs of vegetables	ib.
Great importance of the skin	ib.
Sanctorius, Cruikshank, Edwards	ib.
Experiments of Abernethy	69
—— in quicksilver, in water	70
Carbonic acid—How formed	71
Errors on this point	ib.
Experiments on his own lungs	73
Immense surface of the skin	74
Importance of relations of lungs and other organs	75
His remarks on consumption	76
Investigation required—What?	77
CHAP. IX.
Tic douloureux—What?	78
His remarks on	ib.
Use of the nerves	79
Case	80

Of his paper on the consequences of bleeding	82
Comparative infrequency of	83
Abernethy's rising reputation	85
Moves to St. Mildred's Court	ib.
Publishes first part of "Physiological Essays"	ib.
CHAP. X.
Of his paper on injuries of the head	86
His powers of analysis	ib.
Pierre Joseph Desault	87
Of Bichat's eulogium on Desault	ib.
Parallel of Desault and Abernethy	88
Their solution of a difficulty	89
Abernethy's improvement	91
CHAP. XI.
His experiments on muscles, &c.	93
Of their contraction after death	ib.
Of Galvanism—Its importance in aid of discovery	94
Of Fontana—His experiments	ib.
Experiments of Abernethy	95
Of the respiration of fish	97
Of the temperature of animals	ib.
CHAP. XII.
Expts. on animals, involving cruelty, questioned	99
Claims of physiology	100–1
Orfila, Charles Bell	101
Cruel experiments useless	ib.
Spalanzani	100–3
Cruelty as opposed to the interests of science as to moral feeling	104–5
CHAP. XIII.
Abernethy on tumours	106
Simplicity of his plan	107
Importance of names—His arrangement—Defects of plan	108–9
Popular illustration	110
Analogies in vegetables	111
His paper on certain curious results of wounds in the lungs	112
His paper on mothers' marks, or nævi	114
Hunter's celebrated operation—First extension of it by Abernethy	115–6
His paper on the Heart	116
His increasing reputation—Removes to Bedford Row	117
CHAP. XIV.
His marriage	118
False reports concerning	119
His difficulty	121
His letter	122
Marriage at Edmonton	123
Lectures the same day	125
CHAP. XV.
His book on the Constitutional Origin of Local Diseases, otherwise called "My Book"	126
Slow progress of truth	127
Importance of simple facts	128
Mr. Hunter	129
Sir C. Bell—Physiology a science of observation	ib.
Popular illustrations	130
Remarks on John Hunter's audience	131
Mr. Cline—His remarks on J. Hunter	ib.
A great Evil	132
Mr. Boodle	ib.
Important inferences and cautions—Lord Bacon	133
Names of diseases—Their importance	134
Defective nomenclature—Result of partial views which it tends to perpetuate	135
Misconceptions of his views	136–7
Popular illustrations	137–8
Subtle nature of odours	140
Vigilance of the stomach	140–1
Abernethy's illustrations of his views	141
CHAP. XVI.
Influence of digestive organs	146
Of specific poisons	147
A suggestive case	148
Mr. Boodle—Recapitulatory—Causes of failure examined	150–3
How nature deals with injurious influences	154–7
Impressions produced by "My Book"—Abernethy's increasing practice—Sir James Earle—Anecdote—Retrospect	159–63
CHAP. XVII.
Abernethy's position—His high reputation	164-
Pupils present plate—Subscribe for his portrait	167–8
Offered a Baronetcy, which he declines	169
Note from Sir B. C. Brodie	170
Anecdote—Painful impressions in prospect	171
CHAP. XVIII.
Lincoln's-Inn Fields	173
Hunterian Museum	174
Mr. Clift	175
Abernethy lectures at the College	176
His faithful representation of Hunter—His additional illustrations—Illustrations not opinions	173–80
CHAP. XIX.
Effects of anatomy	181
Bacon, Pope, Addison	182
Abernethy—Lawrence	ib.
Mr. Lawrence's exordium	183
Its comprehensive fidelity	ib.
Mr. Lawrence's first lectures	184
Mr. Abernethy in relation to the opinions advocated	185
Personal application by Lawrence of Abernethy's observations	186
Others engage in the discussion	187
CHAP. XX.
Review of the controversy	188
Difficulty of Abernethy's position	189
Discussion of the pupils	ib.
Difficulty of Abernethy's position	190
Of "tendency" as an argument	191
Abernethy's moderation	ib.
Of the poverty of language	192
Of the conduct of the College	ib.
Of imputed scepticism	193
Alleged neglect of the Sabbath	194
Conduct of the College	195
Apathy of the College	ib.
Abernethy's moderation	196
CHAP. XXI.
Abernethy's style of lecturing	167
Extracts from lectures	197–216
CHAP. XXII.
Abernethy as a teacher	217
Communication of ideas	218
Of simplicity	ib.
Of unnecessary technicalities	219
Some lecturers very technical	ib.
An example	220
A sentence from Abernethy	ib.
Of tricks—Good breeding	221
Vulgarity—Abernethy's freedom from	ib.
Of quantity—Expression	222
Of Metaphorical language—Mode of impressing facts—Anecdote of Dr. T. Rees—Of his stories	222–4
His dramatic power—Anecdote—Of the pathetic—Anecdote—Tone of voice never declamatory	225–7
Inconveniences of declamation—Of sympathy with the student—Of order—Favourite passages—His liveliness	228–9
His successful manner—In referring to adaptation	230–1
Inconvenience of marvellousness	232
Of the passions or feelings—Of illustrations addressed to the external senses	233
CHAP. XXIII.
Abernethy's humour—Anecdote—His self-possession—Of his excellent moral tone	234–7
Salutary impressions—Gentleness—Its importance—An important improvement—General effects of his lectures—His negative excellences very great	238–9
CHAP. XXIV.
Of immoralities of trades and professions, &c.	240
Of habit and fashion—Of conventional morality—Influence of fashion—Honesty the best policy—Of public credulity—Of legal practice	241–3
Mischief of conventional morality, Examples of—Illustrations of conduct—Decisions of doubtful operations—Moral influence of Abernethy	244–6
CHAP. XXV.
Of consultation	247
Of differences of opinion	249
Consultation—Examples of	250–2
CHAP. XXVI.
Abernethy in consultation	253
Anecdote	260
Abernethy's extension of John Hunter's operation for Aneurism	262
Abernethy in consultation	263–4
CHAP. XXVII.
Of manner	266
Of Abernethy's manner—His roughness and benevolence	268–9
Anecdotes	270–4
His liberality	275
His humanity	276
Anecdote	277
Of operative dexterity	ib.
Of operating	ib.
A hoax	278
Of anecdotes generally	ib.
His manner considered	279
Self-government	280
Of publishing lectures	281
Extract from a letter	282
SECTION.
Appointed Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's in 1815	282
Ageing at fifty	283
CHAP. XXVIII.
The hospital system	284–7
Of operations—Of chloroform	289
John Hunter on operations	290
Hospital system resumed	221
Of apprentice qualification	292
Of imperfect records of cases	293
Of division of labour	294
Hospital system a failure—Its Various evils	295
CHAP. XXIX.
Hospital system continued	296
Abernethy and The System	296
Professor Owen—Cuvier	297–300
Discussions at the hospital	301–4
Sir A. Cooper in illustration of The System	305
Sir Charles Bell—Abernethy's disinterestedness	307
Failure and unsatisfactory result of the Hospital System—Concluding remarks	308–10
CHAP. XXX.
Influence of research in science—Its first impulses—Its higher aspirations—Its Religion	311–12
The idea of some that scientific men have a tendency to scepticism in Religion opposed to evidences of experience	313
Of the analogies of Religion and Science	314
No more avowed believers in religious truth than scientific men—Boyle, Bacon, Kepler, Newton, Locke—Many, too, of the medical profession, as Locke, Böerhaave, Linnæus, Sloane, Haller, &c.	315
Divines, on the other hand, recognize the importance of the study of the laws of nature—Cudworth, Butler, Sturm, Derham, Paley, Crombie, &c.	ib.
Of Paschal, St. Pierre, Gilpin, White	316
Extracts from MSS. &c.	317
CHAP. XXXI.
Obligations to Abernethy	327–8
John Hunter	329
Hunter and Abernethy	330–1
Obligations to Abernethy	332–9
CHAP. XXXII.
Of evils and their correction	340–1
Signs of public distrust	342
Thoughts of the public	343
Homœopathy—Hydropathy	344–52
Lord Bacon—Of perceptions	353
Hopes and predictions	354
CHAP. XXXIII.
His favourite mare—House at Enfield	355–6
Wounded in dissection—His irritable Heart	357
Anecdote	358
Receives thanks of the Council—His reply	359
Letter to Sir W. Blizard	360
Of illness in medical men	361
Resigns the hospital	362
His resignation	363
Letter to Mr. Belfour	364
Memorial addressed to him	365
An interview	366
His death—Tablet to his memory	367–8
CHAP. XXXIV.
Of his character	369–70
Impressions of his character	372
Too many Gnathos	373
Abernethy's dislike of this kind of assentation	ib.
Anecdote	374
Kindness to hospital patients	375
His benevolence	376
Letters, how far to be relied on as expositions of character—To Mr. Kingdon, to Mrs. Warburton, to Mrs. Abernethy	376–82
His pleasures at home with the children	383
Battledore and shuttlecock—Theatricals—Magic lantern—At Enfield—Gardening, &c.	384
Impressions of his character	385–9
Conclusion	389

FINIS

PRINTED BY J. MALLETT, WARDOUR STREET, LONDON.

Memoirs of John Abernethy / With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published

About This Book

INDEX.