History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

158 History of Medical Practice in IllinoisJ.As a practical economic measure a resolution was introduced by Dr.C. Frye of Peoria that "a committee of three be appointed to memorializethe Legislature in regard to the unjust and oppressive operation ofthe late law of homestead exemption upon the medical profession; seeingthat the mechanic is secured in his remuneration for labor necessarily completedbefore payment, and while the merchant possesses the choice ofsaying whom he will trust, the physician has to attend to all, perhaps morebecause they are poor, and under the present law is dependent wholly uponthe honor of a large number who are indebted to him and never intend topay." Such an understanding of humanity was held by our sturdy forefathers!Dr. Herrick, in his 1851 Presidential Address, hailed the approach of anew era in the study and practice of medicine. In his discussion of the oxidationof food and materials in the body, he spoke of the "fibrine" in theblood and mentioned the "fact stated by Hassal, in his 'Microscopic Anatomyof the Human Body,' where it is asserted that 'the true cause of thefatality which has so often attended the operation of transfusion(blood)depends upon the differences which exist in the qualities of the fibrine inthe blood of two different animals, or even two distinct individuals. Thisis shown by the fact that the transfusion of blood deprived of its fibrine,is never followed by the serious results to which reference has been made.' "Appendix B was entitled "Chloroform in Surgical Operations, an Additamentumto the Report on Surgery." Dr. E. S. Cooper of Peoria reportedon an opportunity of testing the effects of chloroform as an anestheticagent in 79 surgical operations since the reorganization of the Illinois StateMedical Society, mostly minor operations, which he thought displayed themerits of the article itself in producing insensibility. This is the first recordof the use of chloroform in the state. Its effects were as various as those ofthe protoxide of nitrogen. It was advised to administer it a few drops ata time when the patient's stomach was empty. It was considered safe tobegin with a small amount on a napkin or sponge held at a distance fromthe mouth "as there is a great susceptibility of some grown persons to itsaction." He reported one case of a 25-year old woman who was operatedupon for strabismus on December 10, 1850, seated in a chair. Chloroformwas given under his direction, 20 drops used with a napkin held close tothe mouth. "Two or three vigorous inhalations were rapidly made, whenthe patient sank down and would have fallen. She struggled, gasped forbreath, became pulseless, and lips and cheeks assumed a purple hue. Shewas placed in a recumbent position, lungs forcibly expanded, fauces titillated,face sponged with spiritsof camphor and some being given internally.She recovered slowly with headache, pain and fullness in the chest,and with prostration and loss of strength for days. Two weeks later the doc-