On the relation between therapeutics and pathology : with especial reference to some forms of cardiac, renal, and nervous diseases : a course of lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians in the spring of 1853 / by George Johnson.

  • Johnson, George, 1818-1896.
Date:
1853
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the relation between therapeutics and pathology : with especial reference to some forms of cardiac, renal, and nervous diseases : a course of lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians in the spring of 1853 / by George Johnson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    administration of quinine might be useless, or even mis- chievous. We sometimes receive from our patients, in reply to the question, “ What ails you?” not a detail of symptomss but a ready-formed diagnosis ; and among those who have had chills or rigors, the belief is common, that they are suffering from ague. It scarcely need be said, that we cannot act upon such a diagnosis without further inquiry, and that, if we were to do so, we should often fail to cure our patients, while, at length, our frequent failures would naturally lead us to the conviction, that the value of quinine as a remedy for ague has been greatly over-estimated. The importance of scientific pathology, and of an accurate diagnosis, would be far less than it is, if, for every disease which we can recognise* we had one or niore specific remedies, such as -quinine for ague. Unhappily, however, it is far otherwise $ and, in a large proportion of cases, we are reduced to the necessity of treating disease upon wdiat are called general principles. In other words, we study the phenomena of disease with a view to ascertain their nature and tendency ; we learn what we can of the natural Curative efforts which are continually manifesting themselves during the progress of various diseases ; and we thence deduce rules for our guidance in the manage- ment of these diseases; one of the most important rules being, to avoid all mischievous interference, and to do nothing, if we have not a reasonable hope of doing good. It is, I think, extremely improbable, that specific remedies will ever he found for many of the diseases with which we are acquainted. The contrary doctrine, we know, is main- tained by some claimants for public favour, who proclaim the virtues of one unfailing remedy for impure blood, the source, as they assert, of all diseases, while others boast with equal confidence of specifics as numerous as the multi- tudinous forms of disease. A short time since I was told by a friend, who lias acquired a well-deserved reputation by investigating a particular c-lass of diseases, that a certain practitioner is in the habit of sending to him patients, in order that he may form a diagnosis and name the disease ; this being done, the patients return to the aforesaid prac- titioner, who supplies them with the cure for the disease