History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

Internal Medicineiggmental development and discipline and the advantages to be derived froma fair knowledge of the common branches of education including mathematics,physics and natural sciences before entering upon study of medicineare too obvious to require either argument or illustration. It is well knownthat a large number of those who enter upon the study of medicine in thiscountry have neither the mental discipline nor the knowledge just alludedto. Only a small number of the colleges enforce any rule on the subject. Ofall the defects in our system of educating men for the practice of medicineand surgery, none is greater or productive of more injury to the communityand to the profession itself, than this want of preparatory knowledge anddiscipline on the part of those who enter it."During this year, Dr. N. S. Davis offered a course in Examination of theSick at the Chicago Medical College.Dr. H. Gradle, Chicago ophthalmologist who had a keen interest ingeneral medicine, spoke on "The Inoculability of the Tubercle." Hepostulatedthat the human tubercle could be inoculated successfully inlower animals if introduced under the skin or in the peritoneal cavity. Hesaid this would lead to local eruption of tubercles, leading ultimately togeneral tuberculosis, while intravenous injection would produce generalized(111111317) tuberculosis only. Dr. Gradle pointed out that in animalexperiments, sputum, tubercles, caseous masses and scrofulous dischargeshad been used successfully, and that Dr. Cohnheim had produced tuberclesby injection of tuberculous masses into the anterior chamber of the eye.The Committee on Medical Practice discussed winter cholera as a newdisease in epidemic form, chiefly in the North and in densely populatedcities. Its course was said to have a sudden onset, no fever, profuseserous discharges; it w r as usually painless although cramps had been noted,and its duration was one to two weeks with possibility of relapse followingindiscretions in diet. Its cause was as yet unknown. Its pathology wasthought to be follicular enteritis. Few deaths were reported, and the suggestedtreatment was dietetic, with the addition of anodynes and astringents.The committee called attention to the possibility that this comparativelybenign disease might be the precursor of serious gastro-intestinaldisease should the transition to a hot summer be sudden.This committee reported that "Chicago Sewage and How to Dispose ofIt" was attracting wide attention. The situation, they pointed out, hadbeen settled for the time being by making Lake Michigan and the Illinoiscanal the great cloaca, which passed the complex fluid to the Illinois andMississippi Rivers, thus contravening the sanitary dictum—" the rainfallto the rivers and the sewage to the land." It w r as the opinion of the committeethat the method of disposal of Chicago sewage used at that timewould have to be replaced by an improved one.