History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

41 o History of Medical Practice in Illinois1879, was named Adjunct Professor, his duties being mainly concernedwith histology. The lectures were further reduced to two a week with sixhours of laboratory work. Evidently all the time was devoted to histologybecause the laboratory period disappeared when histology was divorcedagain from physiology. The five lecture periods were then restored. In 1895Buckmaster resigned and some time later went into practice in Janesville,Wisconsin, where he died in 1927.In 1897 Benson was listed as Professor of Physiology of the NervousSystem. His service in this capacity during the next two years was nominal,as he was on sick leave most of the time, and died in 1899.T. B. Wiggin was elected Professor of Physiology to succeed Benson. Hewas an alumnus of the class of 1886, although he had attended the NewYork Postgraduate Medical School, Johns Hopkins, and London CollegeHospital. Three years later he became Professor of Medicine. In 1908 hewent to the Dental College of Northwestern University as Professor ofPhysiology, and at the same time was Professor of Physical Diagnosis in theNorthwestern University School of Medicine.After Benson's death, in 1899, L. H. Mettler was made Professor ofPhysiology of the Nervous System. He was graduated from Jefferson MedicalCollege in1886, and at the Medico-Chirurgical College attained considerableprominence in clinical neurology. His name did not appear onthe faculty list after 1900.In 1897, at tne recommendation of Governor Altgeld, a nominal affiliationwith the University of Illinois was effected. By this time the authoritiesrealized the necessity of an internal reorganization of the College. Sincethe Chair of Physiology was vacant, they began by inviting George P.Dreyer of Johns Hopkins to be Professor of Physiology, and he accepted.The course consisted of four hours of lectures a week through two termsand six hours of laboratory work through one term. The new AmericanTextbook of Physiology was adopted. At that time the bulletin carried thestatement that chemistry and anatomy had been the only courses offeringlaboratory work from the beginning of the institution. It may be assumed,therefore, that Dreyer found littleor nothing with which to work. On aprevious trip to Europe, he had secured designs of some of the best laboratoryapparatus then available. Since laboratory supply houses in this countrywere not making physiologic equipment at that time and the HarvardApparatus Company was not yet functioning, Dreyer induced the WalthamWatch Company to make a lightweight kymograph. For simplicity ofdesign and ease of graded control it was superior to the then standardkymograph. These instruments were purchased in 1901 and a few werestill in use as recently as 1945. Later Dreyer induced the Stoelting Companyto add physiologic equipment to their stock line of optical apparatus for