INDEX.

 
CHAPTER I.
 PAGE.
Retrospect[1]
Progress of Discovery—Missions of individuals—Galileo, Bacon, Kepler[2]
Berzelius, Davy, &c.—Combined effect[3]
Difficulty of estimating individual efforts—Physiological laws[4]
Meaning of events seldom seen at the time[5]
Propose to point out the position occupied by Abernethy[ib.]
Necessity of clearly seeing what is required[6]
Medical science—False ideas on[7]
Birth of Abernethy[8]
Goes to School[9]
 
CHAP. II.
Predictions often erroneous—Dryden, Swift, Sheridan, Niebuhr, Galileo, Newton, Wren[11]
Individuality of Abernethy[12]
Schoolfellows of Abernethy[13]
School reminiscences[14]
Mr. Thacker's letter[15]
Leaves school for London[16]
 
CHAP. III.
Of the choice of a profession[17]
Of steadiness and industry[18]
Abernethy's ready memory[19]
Becomes a pupil in surgery[20]
Apprenticed to Sir C. Blicke[22]
Early indications[23]
 
CHAP. IV.
Sir W. Blizard—His influence[25]
Abernethy's view of anatomy[26]
His gratitude to Sir William[27]
How expressed—Quotation[28]
Demonstrates for Sir W. Blizard[28]
Mode of teaching anatomy described—Mr. Pott[30]
 
CHAP. V.
A large London hospital[21]
Elected Assistant Surgeon—Important epoch in his life[33]
His position—Lectures in St. Bartholomew Close[34]
Dr. Maclaurin, Dr. Marshall, Mr. Pott[ib.]
His education as a lecturer[35]
Of teaching too early[ib.]
Its disadvantages—His lectures soon attractive—His arrangement[36]
Impresses the importance of comparative anatomy[37]
His labours—Zeal and industry—Early rising[38]
Shyness of Abernethy[39]
Theatre built in the hospital—His winter courses given in it, 1791—Thus the founder of the school in St. Bartholomew's[ib.]
 
CHAP. VI.
Of change in all created things[41]
Experiments[42]
Grows vegetables in distilled water—Boyle, Fordyce—Tadpoles, observations on[43]
Experiments on eggs, curious[44]
On the ultimate particles of matter[44]
Dissection of a whale[46]
Of the absorbent vessels[47]
Of glands or kernels[48]
Curious cases[49]
 
Combination of natural laws[50]
Dissection—How formerly supplied[51]
Curious position of heart and liver[52]
Of the public aversion to the inspection of the dead[53]
 
CHAP. VII.
Of painless diseases[56]
Of insidious maladies[ib.]
Of his essay on lumbar abscess, &c.—Of his plan[57]
How misunderstood[58]
Misinterpreted by Sir A. Cooper[59]
Real objects of his plan[60]
Suggested by an accident[ib.]
 
CHAP. VIII.
His paper on the skin and lungs[61]
Of the progress of chemistry[62]
Objects of his inquiry[64]
Of the uses of the lungs[65]
Consequences, if mistaken[ib.]
Of the coverings of animals[66]
Of the clothing of birds[67]
Of breathing by the skin[68]
Leaves, the lungs of vegetables[ib.]
Great importance of the skin[ib.]
Sanctorius, Cruikshank, Edwards[ib.]
Experiments of Abernethy[69]
—— in quicksilver, in water[70]
Carbonic acid—How formed[71]
Errors on this point[ib.]
Experiments on his own lungs[73]
Immense surface of the skin[74]
Importance of relations of lungs and other organs[75]
His remarks on consumption[76]
Investigation required—What?[77]
 
CHAP. IX.
Tic douloureux—What?[78]
His remarks on[ib.]
Use of the nerves[79]
Case[80]
 
Of his paper on the consequences of bleeding[82]
Comparative infrequency of[83]
Abernethy's rising reputation[85]
Moves to St. Mildred's Court[ib.]
Publishes first part of "Physiological Essays"[ib.]
 
CHAP. X.
Of his paper on injuries of the head[86]
His powers of analysis[ib.]
Pierre Joseph Desault[87]
Of Bichat's eulogium on Desault[ib.]
Parallel of Desault and Abernethy[88]
Their solution of a difficulty[89]
Abernethy's improvement[91]
 
CHAP. XI.
His experiments on muscles, &c.[93]
Of their contraction after death[ib.]
Of Galvanism—Its importance in aid of discovery[94]
Of Fontana—His experiments[ib.]
Experiments of Abernethy[95]
Of the respiration of fish[97]
Of the temperature of animals[ib.]
 
CHAP. XII.
Expts. on animals, involving cruelty, questioned[99]
Claims of physiology[100–1]
Orfila, Charles Bell[101]
Cruel experiments useless[ib.]
Spalanzani[100–3]
Cruelty as opposed to the interests of science as to moral feeling[104–5]
 
CHAP. XIII.
Abernethy on tumours[106]
Simplicity of his plan[107]
Importance of names—His arrangement—Defects of plan[108–9]
Popular illustration[110]
Analogies in vegetables[111]
His paper on certain curious results of wounds in the lungs[112]
His paper on mothers' marks, or nævi[114]
Hunter's celebrated operation—First extension of it by Abernethy[115–6]
His paper on the Heart[116]
His increasing reputation—Removes to Bedford Row[117]
 
CHAP. XIV.
His marriage[118]
False reports concerning[119]
His difficulty[121]
His letter[122]
Marriage at Edmonton[123]
Lectures the same day[125]
 
CHAP. XV.
His book on the Constitutional Origin of Local Diseases, otherwise called "My Book"[126]
Slow progress of truth[127]
Importance of simple facts[128]
Mr. Hunter[129]
Sir C. Bell—Physiology a science of observation[ib.]
Popular illustrations[130]
Remarks on John Hunter's audience[131]
Mr. Cline—His remarks on J. Hunter[ib.]
A great Evil[132]
Mr. Boodle[ib.]
Important inferences and cautions—Lord Bacon[133]
Names of diseases—Their importance[134]
Defective nomenclature—Result of partial views which it tends to perpetuate[135]
Misconceptions of his views[136–7]
Popular illustrations[137–8]
Subtle nature of odours[140]
Vigilance of the stomach[140–1]
Abernethy's illustrations of his views[141]
 
CHAP. XVI.
Influence of digestive organs[146]
Of specific poisons[147]
A suggestive case[148]
Mr. Boodle—Recapitulatory—Causes of failure examined[150–3]
How nature deals with injurious influences[154–7]
Impressions produced by "My Book"—Abernethy's increasing practice—Sir James Earle—Anecdote—Retrospect[159–63]
 
CHAP. XVII.
Abernethy's position—His high reputation[164-]
Pupils present plate—Subscribe for his portrait[167–8]
Offered a Baronetcy, which he declines[169]
Note from Sir B. C. Brodie[170]
Anecdote—Painful impressions in prospect[171]
 
CHAP. XVIII.
Lincoln's-Inn Fields[173]
Hunterian Museum[174]
Mr. Clift[175]
Abernethy lectures at the College[176]
His faithful representation of Hunter—His additional illustrations—Illustrations not opinions[173–80]
 
CHAP. XIX.
Effects of anatomy[181]
Bacon, Pope, Addison[182]
Abernethy—Lawrence[ib.]
Mr. Lawrence's exordium[183]
Its comprehensive fidelity[ib.]
Mr. Lawrence's first lectures[184]
Mr. Abernethy in relation to the opinions advocated[185]
Personal application by Lawrence of Abernethy's observations[186]
Others engage in the discussion[187]
 
CHAP. XX.
Review of the controversy[188]
Difficulty of Abernethy's position[189]
Discussion of the pupils[ib.]
Difficulty of Abernethy's position[190]
Of "tendency" as an argument[191]
Abernethy's moderation[ib.]
Of the poverty of language[192]
Of the conduct of the College[ib.]
Of imputed scepticism[193]
Alleged neglect of the Sabbath[194]
Conduct of the College[195]
Apathy of the College[ib.]
Abernethy's moderation[196]
 
CHAP. XXI.
Abernethy's style of lecturing[167]
Extracts from lectures[197–216]
 
CHAP. XXII.
Abernethy as a teacher[217]
Communication of ideas[218]
Of simplicity[ib.]
Of unnecessary technicalities[219]
Some lecturers very technical[ib.]
An example[220]
A sentence from Abernethy[ib.]
Of tricks—Good breeding[221]
Vulgarity—Abernethy's freedom from[ib.]
Of quantity—Expression[222]
Of Metaphorical language—Mode of impressing facts—Anecdote of Dr. T. Rees—Of his stories[222–4]
His dramatic power—Anecdote—Of the pathetic—Anecdote—Tone of voice never declamatory[225–7]
Inconveniences of declamation—Of sympathy with the student—Of order—Favourite passages—His liveliness[228–9]
His successful manner—In referring to adaptation[230–1]
Inconvenience of marvellousness[232]
Of the passions or feelings—Of illustrations addressed to the external senses[233]
 
CHAP. XXIII.
Abernethy's humour—Anecdote—His self-possession—Of his excellent moral tone[234–7]
Salutary impressions—Gentleness—Its importance—An important improvement—General effects of his lectures—His negative excellences very great[238–9]
 
CHAP. XXIV.
Of immoralities of trades and professions, &c.[240]
Of habit and fashion—Of conventional morality—Influence of fashion—Honesty the best policy—Of public credulity—Of legal practice[241–3]
Mischief of conventional morality, Examples of—Illustrations of conduct—Decisions of doubtful operations—Moral influence of Abernethy[244–6]
 
CHAP. XXV.
Of consultation[247]
Of differences of opinion[249]
Consultation—Examples of[250–2]
 
CHAP. XXVI.
Abernethy in consultation[253]
Anecdote[260]
Abernethy's extension of John Hunter's operation for Aneurism[262]
Abernethy in consultation[263–4]
 
CHAP. XXVII.
Of manner[266]
Of Abernethy's manner—His roughness and benevolence[268–9]
Anecdotes[270–4]
His liberality[275]
His humanity[276]
Anecdote[277]
Of operative dexterity[ib.]
Of operating[ib.]
A hoax[278]
Of anecdotes generally[ib.]
His manner considered[279]
Self-government[280]
Of publishing lectures[281]
Extract from a letter[282]
 
SECTION.
Appointed Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's in 1815[282]
Ageing at fifty[283]
 
CHAP. XXVIII.
The hospital system[284–7]
Of operations—Of chloroform[289]
John Hunter on operations[290]
Hospital system resumed[221]
Of apprentice qualification[292]
Of imperfect records of cases[293]
Of division of labour[294]
Hospital system a failure—Its Various evils[295]
 
CHAP. XXIX.
Hospital system continued[296]
Abernethy and The System[296]
Professor Owen—Cuvier[297–300]
Discussions at the hospital[301–4]
Sir A. Cooper in illustration of The System[305]
Sir Charles Bell—Abernethy's disinterestedness[307]
Failure and unsatisfactory result of the Hospital System—Concluding remarks[308–10]
 
CHAP. XXX.
Influence of research in science—Its first impulses—Its higher aspirations—Its Religion[311–12]
The idea of some that scientific men have a tendency to scepticism in Religion opposed to evidences of experience[313]
Of the analogies of Religion and Science[314]
No more avowed believers in religious truth than scientific men—Boyle, Bacon, Kepler, Newton, Locke—Many, too, of the medical profession, as Locke, Böerhaave, Linnæus, Sloane, Haller, &c.[315]
Divines, on the other hand, recognize the importance of the study of the laws of nature—Cudworth, Butler, Sturm, Derham, Paley, Crombie, &c.[ib.]
Of Paschal, St. Pierre, Gilpin, White[316]
Extracts from MSS. &c.[317]
 
CHAP. XXXI.
Obligations to Abernethy[327–8]
John Hunter[329]
Hunter and Abernethy[330–1]
Obligations to Abernethy[332–9]
 
CHAP. XXXII.
Of evils and their correction[340–1]
Signs of public distrust[342]
Thoughts of the public[343]
Homœopathy—Hydropathy[344–52]
Lord Bacon—Of perceptions[353]
Hopes and predictions[354]
 
CHAP. XXXIII.
His favourite mare—House at Enfield[355–6]
Wounded in dissection—His irritable Heart[357]
Anecdote[358]
Receives thanks of the Council—His reply[359]
Letter to Sir W. Blizard[360]
Of illness in medical men[361]
Resigns the hospital[362]
His resignation[363]
Letter to Mr. Belfour[364]
Memorial addressed to him[365]
An interview[366]
His death—Tablet to his memory[367–8]
 
CHAP. XXXIV.
Of his character[369–70]
Impressions of his character[372]
Too many Gnathos[373]
Abernethy's dislike of this kind of assentation[ib.]
Anecdote[374]
Kindness to hospital patients[375]
His benevolence[376]
Letters, how far to be relied on as expositions of character—To Mr. Kingdon, to Mrs. Warburton, to Mrs. Abernethy[376–82]
His pleasures at home with the children[383]
Battledore and shuttlecock—Theatricals—Magic lantern—At Enfield—Gardening, &c.[384]
Impressions of his character[385–9]
Conclusion[389]

FINIS

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BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

MEDICINE AND SURGERY ONE INDUCTIVE SCIENCE:

Being an attempt to improve its Study and Practice on a plan in closer alliance with Inductive Philosophy, and offering, as first fruits, the "Law of Inflammation."

In this Treatise, the Author claims to have developed the Law regulating, in a general sense, the sites occupied by diseased actions, as the highest generalization yet reached in Pathological Science.

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AN ANALYSIS OF FEVER;
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CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS OF
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