History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

92 History of Medical Practice in Illinoisto the people, a service which during those years could not have beenobtained in any other way. In both the rural areas and the smaller communities,this type of general service has persisted to this day and, though receding,no doubt will continue for many years to come.But at approximately the midcentury mark, this general plan of procedure,both for the doctor and the patient, slowly but surely commenced tochange, the change beginning primarily in the large cities and in themedical schools. The inexorable law of specialization began to manifestitself in almost everything that was being done by the physicians as well asby the people in the home, on the farm, in industry, etc. The trend towardspecialization was very gradual. Though it increased at an acceleratingrate, even after fifty years there still existed many competent doctors whomanaged and treated their patients, in principle, as they had done inpioneer days.As already intimated, it was this specialization in medicine which beganabout 1850 that has made it seem advisable to alter the plan, carried out inVolume I, to one that is based on the rise and development of the severalspecialties. This latter plan seemed to demand that the presentation of thespecialties be allotted to experts qualified in their respective fields.Thishas been done. These experts for the most part are or have been experiencedteachers as well as practitioners. They have thus become familiar with thehistorical approach to their subjects and have acquired a thorough knowledgeof medicine based upon long training and practice.Primitive SpecialismThe first specialists in medicine in the Illinois country appeared amongthe Indians, primitive and crude as they were. Medical specialization grewout of the division of labor—a general practice carried on by all races ofhuman beings who enter into the usual relations incident to the art ofliving. Since man is by nature a gregarious animal, this way of life is oneof his basic characteristics.When the white man first came to Illinois, the American Indians, alreadythere in large numbers, were still living in the Stone Age. Division of laboreven then was clearly evident in their everyday life. The men did thehunting, fishing and fighting. The women made clothes and tepees, cookedthe food, cut the wood, raised the crops and carried on all the menial laborabout the camps. Naturally in such a system, certain individuals becomemore expert than others in performing these activities.Most matters having to do with health and disease, even in the earliesttribes known, were inthe hands of special groups called medicine men.Living largely in a demon or spirit world, the Indians believed that diseaseresulted from the operation of spirits either within or without the body.