History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

THEEDITOR'S FOREWORDperiod 1850 to 1900 embraces a time in the history of medicinewhen basic sciences in the western world were developing so rapidlythat medical science, especially in its physical aspects, was bound to reactcorrespondingly. It did so, first, by the application to medicine of thesegeneral sciences and, second, by innumerable original discoveries in itsown special field. This meant more and more special research and more andmore special technics. The rise of specialism, therefore, was inevitable. Itwas also inevitable that the medical personnel in due time—in this instanceabout 50 years—should become gradually more restricted in their intereststhough more intense in their efforts.The first History Committee that dealt with the scope and internalarrangement of the data for Volume I of the "History of Medical Practicein Illinois" was not explicit in setting forth the reasons for limiting thatvolume to approximately 700 pages nor for their decision to cover a periodof time from the early beginnings of medicine in Illinois up to 1850. Nowherein the volume are these points clearly analyzed or defined. We areobliged to assume that under the circumstances that existed at the time,such factors as available data, costs, personnel, size of volume and, no doubt,others of a similar nature determined the final conclusions of those whowere designated to complete the project. It should be said here, as has beensaid elsewhere, that following the issue of Volume I, all records and paperspertaining to that volume promptly disappeared with the death of theeditor, Dr. Zeuch, which occurred just at that time (1927).The period "Preceding 1850" having been covered in Volume I, thesecond period naturally followed from 1850 forward. But how far forward?After long discussions by the Committee, especially of the material at handduring the latter half of the 19th century, it seemed wise to confine thescope of Volume II to approximately the fifty years from 1850 to 1900.There were several other reasons relating especially to the chronology ofevents in medical history. Without splitting hairs over the exact years,they were as follows:1. It was in about 1850 that both the American Medical Association and theIllinoisState Medical Society were formed. A few special societies and specialtyjournals were started about that time.2. Discoveries were announced during that period that made possible the greatadvances in surgery, namely the use of anesthetics (ether, chloroform), and in the1860's the discoveries of Pasteur which soon made possible the antiseptic andaseptic periods of Lister.3. The cellular pathology of Virchow (1859) stimulated studies on the natureof disease throughout the medical world.xiii