By the way, it is an interesting fact that the clinical histories of many operations for stone during the seventeenth century were related in verse, and illustrated with plates. Harvey's vivisections were also related in verse.
Now, for the first time, do we begin to hear of English surgeons and English surgery. The most prominent, as well as almost the earliest, was Richard Wiseman (1595-1686), ordinary surgeon of James I, called sometimes the "Pride of England" and sometimes the "Paré of England,"—a bold, judicious operator, who took hold of every novelty and who accepted the ligature of Paré (always having the actual cautery at hand, in case the ligature should fail); he also amputated through sound parts, favored operating for strangulated hernia, and employed the trephine zealously. The first recorded operation for external urethrotomy for the relief of stricture is mentioned in Wiseman's writings.
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There were also William Cowper (1666-1709), a famous anatomist and surgeon; and Woolhouse, a famous, but ignorant, itinerant oculist. Sir Christopher Wren, architect of St. Paul's, was the first who devoted attention to injecting medicine into the veins,—a subject studied again much later and recently once more taken up. His example (in 1667) was followed by others, whose experiments demonstrated, as we know to-day, that the effects which follow the intravenous administration of drugs are the same as follow administration by the mouth.
Midwifery during the seventeenth century advanced even more rapidly than its mother-science surgery. The accouchement of women was intrusted in many cases to the care of educated men, who contributed not a little to the art. Anatomy and physiology contributed also their quota to a clearer knowledge of these diseases. The obstetric forceps were for so long a time kept secret that they were of small benefit at first to the obstetric art. Among the French who were especially prominent as promoters of midwifery must be mentioned Marguerite de la Marche, chief midwife of the Hôtel-Dieu; Francois Mauriceau, President of the College of St. Come; Jules Clement Delamotte, who was also a skillful surgeon; and Portal, who first proposed version by one foot Among the Germans a few midwives distinguished themselves as independent observers, most of all Justine Siegemundin, daughter of a minister, who devoted herself to midwifery with such success that she became court midwife; she recommended puncture of the membranes for the production of artificial delivery, and especially advocated bimanual version.
But, perhaps, the most significant advances were made in the direction of studies in anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The history of the circulation we have already taken up. After Harvey's time, and largely because of his researches, physiologists were divided into two parties with regard to the origin of life. These parties were known as animists and animalculists. It was largely by the later researches of Highmore (1613-1685) upon the anatomy of the testis and the epididymis, supplemented by those of Aubrey in Florence concerning the ovaries (which had been previously considered as female testicles), and the researches of Stenon concerning the muscular nature of the uterus, that a better knowledge of reproduction was established. De Graaf (1641-1673), a physician of Delft, Holland, pointed out the ovarian follicles, known to-day under his name, while Swammerdam (1637-1686) studied the comparative anatomy of the ovaries,—and was, by the way, the first to prove that the queen bee is a female. Needham, the London anatomist and physician, and Hoboken, of Utrecht, described more accurately the placenta and the coverings of the ovum.
Anatomical discoveries crowded along about this time. For instance, Wharton (1610-1673) discovered the sub-maxillary duct, named after him; Glisson (1647-1671) studied the liver and recognized its capsule, that still bears his name; Nuck injected the lymphatics with quicksilver, and studied the glands especially; Stenson discovered the excretory duct of the parotid, and Rivinius (his name being translated in German, Bachmann) found the sublingual duct; Peyer, Schafhausen, and Brunner, the latter a professor in Heidelberg, discovered the intestinal glands which bear their names; Wirsung, of Bavaria (who was assassinated in 1643 by another physician), discovered in the dissecting-room of Vesalius, at Padua, the excretory duct of the pancreas; Pacchioni found the bodies named after him in the dura mater; Havers, of London, discovered the synovial glands and the so-called Haversian canals; Cowper, already mentioned, discovered the small glands named after him, located in front of the prostate, and Bartholin yet other glands, in the labia, which bear his name; Mei-bom, professor in Helmstàdt, discovered the small glands in the eyelids which are named after him. Besides these, many other discoveries might be recorded here, did time permit. One other, however, deserves to be mentioned, with which the name of Schneider (1614-1680) must always be honorably connected. He described the mucous membrane of the nose and demonstrated anatomically and clinically that not the brain, but this membrane, secretes the mucous discharge during fluxes from the nose. This overthrew at once and forever the ancient doctrine, which included so many and various "catarrhal" diseases. I might add also that the best and most complete description of the entire central nervous system which had been given up to this time was furnished by Vieussens.