History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

The Rise of Medical Specialism 95nature. And, as a matter of fact, no major discoveries have been recorded inIllinois during this period. Our interest, therefore, will lie in noting theearly application of principles, together with the technical improvementsthat naturally occur during subsequent periods of extension and dispersion.For example, on page 223 of Volume I of this series, Zeuch tells of the firstanesthetic given to a patient in Illinois. This occurred in 1 846 in the amphitheaterof Rush Medical College where Dr. Charles H. Quinlan gave etherin a case of amputation of a finger. It is remarkable that this date was onlyfour years after Dr. Long first used ether in Georgia for the removal of atumor, two years after Dr. Jackson and Dr. Morton used itin pulling atooth in 1844, and one year before Dr. Simpson in 1847, usea chloroform "inchildbirth cases in Edinburgh, Scotland. One must admit that for that daythe transmission of information was surely a remarkable accomplishment.Dr. Quinlan—and there were many like him—must have been on the alertfor the latest and best in medicine.The discovery of practical anesthesia and its relatively rapid applicationwere most timely in view of its usefulness during the Civil War whichwas to follow so shortly thereafter. This is also true of the discoveries inantiseptic surgery during the half-century under consideration.Roentgen's discovery of the x-ray in 1895 further illustrates how rapidlyknowledge of advances in medicine was dispersed. In a surprisingly brieftime, the news of this discovery encircled the world, and in Illinois withinthe same year, Dr. Michael Hewitt of Galesburg was able to obtain an excellentskiagraph of Dr. Thomas Shastid's hand. Dr. Shastid thought thiswas the first x-ray picture taken in the Western Hemisphere. 5 Progress inthe use of x-ray was rapid for the examination of bones and other densetissues or parts of the body. Its use for treatment of disease, while somewhatmore retarded, was progressive and has continued from time to time toexcite the world with new observations and technics.Mention should be made of the fact that the nature and incidence ofdisease in a given region are certain to have an influence on the rapidity andtrends of medical specialization. Where fevers occur, there febrifuges willbe used and studied. In a pioneer period, wounds, fractures and local infectionswill require surgery. In Illinois specifically, the trachoma areaoccurring in the southern part of the state has required the services of eyedoctors for many years. Such experiences surely will encourage a fewdoctors to become more or less expert in some branch of medicine; in otherwords, they become specialists to a greater or less degree during the naturalcourse of events.The rise of the specialties a century ago was not altogether a popularB Shastid, Thomas H.: My Second Life. George Wahr, publisher, Ann Arbor, Michigan.1944. 32 P-