a history of science-2-第26章

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piece　of　dried　lung。　Taking　his　cue　from　this；　he　examined　the　lung　of　a　turtle；　and　was　able　to　see　in　it　the　passage　of　the　corpuscles　through　these　minute　vessels；　making　their　way　along　these　previously　unknown　channels　from　the　arteries　into　the　veins　on　their　journey　back　to　the　heart。　Thus　the　work　of　Harvey；　all　but　complete；　was　made　absolutely　entire　by　the　great　Italian。　And　all　this　in　a　single　generation。

LEEUWENHOEK　DISCOVERS　BACTERIA　The　seventeenth　century　was　not　to　close；　however；　without　another　discovery　in　science；　which；　when　applied　to　the　causation　of　disease　almost　two　centuries　later；　revolutionized　therapeutics　more　completely　than　any　one　discovery。　This　was　the　discovery　of　microbes；　by　Antonius　von　Leeuwenhoek　（1632…1723）；　in　1683。　Von　Leeuwenhoek　discovered　that　〃in　the　white　matter　between　his　teeth〃　there　were　millions　of　microscopic　〃animals〃more；　in　fact；　than　〃there　were　human　beings　in　the　united　Netherlands；〃　and　all　〃moving　in　the　most　delightful　manner。〃　There　can　be　no　question　that　he　saw　them；　for　we　can　recognize　in　his　descriptions　of　these　various　forms　of　little　〃animals〃　the　four　principal　forms　of　microbesthe　long　and　short　rods　of　bacilli　and　bacteria；　the　spheres　of　micrococci；　and　the　corkscrew　spirillum。　The　presence　of　these　microbes　in　his　mouth　greatly　annoyed　Antonius；　and　he　tried　various　methods　of　getting　rid　of　them；　such　as　using　vinegar　and　hot　coffee。　In　doing　this　he　little　suspected　that　he　was　anticipating　modern　antiseptic　surgery　by　a　century　and　three…quarters；　and　to　be　attempting　what　antiseptic　surgery　is　now　able　to　accomplish。　For　the　fundamental　principle　of　antisepsis　is　the　use　of　medicines　for　ridding　wounds　of　similar　microscopic　organisms。　Von　Leenwenhoek　was　only　temporarily　successful　in　his　attempts；　however；　and　took　occasion　to　communicate　his　discovery　to　the　Royal　Society　of　England；　hoping　that　they　would　be　〃interested　in　this　novelty。〃　Probably　they　were；　but　not　sufficiently　so　for　any　member　to　pursue　any　protracted　investigations　or　reach　any　satisfactory　conclusions；　and　the　whole　matter　was　practically　forgotten　until　the　middle　of　the　nineteenth　century。

VIII。　MEDICINE　IN　THE　SIXTEENTH　AND　SEVENTEENTH　CENTURIES　Of　the　half…dozen　surgeons　who　were　prominent　in　the　sixteenth　century；　Ambroise　Pare　（1517…1590）；　called　the　father　of　French　surgery；　is　perhaps　the　most　widely　known。　He　rose　from　the　position　of　a　common　barber　to　that　of　surgeon　to　three　French　monarchs；　Henry　II。；　Francis　II。；　and　Charles　IX。　Some　of　his　mottoes　are　still　first　principles　of　the　medical　man。　Among　others　are：　〃He　who　becomes　a　surgeon　for　the　sake　of　money；　and　not　for　the　sake　of　knowledge；　will　accomplish　nothing〃；　and　〃A　tried　remedy　is　better　than　a　newly　invented。〃　On　his　statue　is　his　modest　estimate　of　his　work　in　caring　for　the　wounded；　〃Je　le　pansay；　Dieu　le　guarit〃I　dressed　him；　God　cured　him。　It　was　in　this　dressing　of　wounds　on　the　battlefield　that　he　accidentally　discovered　how　useless　and　harmful　was　the　terribly　painful　treatment　of　applying　boiling　oil　to　gunshot　wounds　as　advocated　by　John　of　Vigo。　It　happened　that　after　a　certain　battle；　where　there　was　an　unusually　large　number　of　casualties；　Pare　found；　to　his　horror；　that　no　more　boiling　oil　was　available　for　the　surgeons；　and　that　he　should　be　obliged　to　dress　the　wounded　by　other　simpler　methods。　To　his　amazement　the　results　proved　entirely　satisfactory；　and　from　that　day　he　discarded　the　hot…oil　treatment。　As　Pare　did　not　understand　Latin　he　wrote　his　treatises　in　French；　thus　inaugurating　a　custom　in　France　that　was　begun　by　Paracelsus　in　Germany　half　a　century　before。　He　reintroduced　the　use　of　the　ligature　in　controlling　hemorrhage；　introduced　the　〃figure　of　eight〃　suture　in　the　operation　for　hare…lip；　improved　many　of　the　medico…legal　doctrines；　and　advanced　the　practice　of　surgery　generally。　He　is　credited　with　having　successfully　performed　the　operation　for　strangulated　hernia；　but　he　probably　borrowed　it　from　Peter　Franco　（1505…1570）；　who　published　an　account　of　this　operation　in　1556。　As　this　operation　is　considered　by　some　the　most　important　operation　in　surgery；　its　discoverer　is　entitled　to　more　than　passing　notice；　although　he　was　despised　and　ignored　by　the　surgeons　of　his　time。　Franco　was　an　illiterate　travelling　lithotomista　class　of　itinerant　physicians　who　were　very　generally　frowned　down　by　the　regular　practitioners　of　medicine。　But　Franco　possessed　such　skill　as　an　operator；　and　appears　to　have　been　so　earnest　in　the　pursuit　of　what　he　considered　a　legitimate　calling；　that　he　finally　overcame　the　popular　prejudice　and　became　one　of　the　salaried　surgeons　of　the　republic　of　Bern。　He　was　the　first　surgeon　to　perform　the　suprapubic　lithotomy　operationthe　removal　of　stone　through　the　abdomen　instead　of　through　the　perineum。　His　works；　while　written　in　an　illiterate　style；　give　the　clearest　descriptions　of　any　of　the　early　modern　writers。　As　the　fame　of　Franco　rests　upon　his　operation　for　prolonging　human　life；　so　the　fame　of　his　Italian　contemporary；　Gaspar　Tagliacozzi　（1545…1599）；　rests　upon　his　operation　for　increasing　human　comfort　and　happiness　by　restoring　amputated　noses。　At　the　time　in　which　he　lived　amputation　of　the　nose　was　very　common；　partly　from　disease；　but　also　because　a　certain　pope　had　fixed　the　amputation　of　that　member　as　the　penalty　for　larceny。　Tagliacozzi　probably　borrowed　his　operation　from　the　East；　but　he　was　the　first　Western　surgeon　to　perform　it　and　describe　it。　So　great　was　the　fame　of　his　operations　that　patients　flocked　to　him　from　all　over　Europe；　and　each　〃went　away　with　as　many　noses　as　he　liked。〃　Naturally；　the　man　who　directed　his　efforts　to　restoring　structures　that　bad　been　removed　by　order　of　the　Church　was　regarded　in　the　light　of　a　heretic　by　many　theologians；　and　though　he　succeeded　in　cheating　the　stake　or　dungeon；　and　died　a　natural　death；　his　body　was　finally　cast　out　of　the　church　in　which　it　had　been　buried。　In　the　sixteenth　century　Germany　produced　a　surgeon；　Fabricius　Hildanes　（1560…1639）；　whose　work　compares　favorably　with　that　of　Pare；　and　whose　name　would　undoubtedly　have　been　much　better　known　had　not　the　circumstances　of　the　time　in　which　he　lived　tended　to　obscure　his　merits。　The　blind　followers　of　Paracelsus　could　see　nothing　outside　the　pale　of　their　master's　teachings；　and　the　disastrous　Thirty　Years'　War　tended　to　obscure　and　retard　all　scientific　advances　in　Germany。　Unlike　many　of　his　fellow…surgeons；　Hildanes　was　well　versed　in　Latin　and　Greek；　and；　contrary　to　the　teachings　of　Paracelsus；　he　laid　particular　stress　upon　the　necessity　of　the　surgeon　having　a　thorough　knowledge　of　anatomy。　He　had　a　helpmate　in　his　wife；　who　was　also　something　of　a　surgeon；　and　she　is　credited　with　having　first　made　use　of　the　magnet　in　removing　particles　of　metal　from　the　eye。　Hildanes　tells　of　a　certain　man　who　had　been　injured　by　a　small　piece　of　steel　in　the　cornea；　which　resisted　all　his　efforts　to　remove　it。　After　observing　Hildanes'　fruitless　efforts　for　a　time；　it　suddenly　occurred　to　his　wife　to　attempt　to　make　the　extraction　with　a　piece　of　loadstone。　While　the　physician　held　open　the　two　lids；　his　wife　attempted　to　withdraw　the　steel　with　the　magnet　held　close　to　the　cornea；　and　after　several　efforts　she　was　successfulwhich　Hildanes　enumerates　as　one　of　the　advantages　of　being　a　married　man。　Hildanes　was　particularly　happy　in　his　inventions　of　surgical　instruments；　many　of　which　were　designed　for　locating　and　removing　the　various　missiles　recently　introduced　in　warfare。

The　seventeenth　century；　which　was　such　a　flourishing　one　for　anatomy　and　physiology；　was　not　as　productive　of　great　surgeons　or　advances　in　surgery　as　the　sixteenth　had　been　or　the　eighteenth　was　to　be。　There　was　a　gradual　improvement　all　along　the　line；　however；　and　much　of　the　work　begun　by　such　surgeons　as　Pare　and　Hildanes　was　perfected　or　improved。　Perhaps　the　most　progressive　surgeon　of　the　century　was　an　Englishman；　Richard　Wiseman　（1625…1686）；　who；　like　Harvey；　enjoyed　royal　favor；　being　in　the　service　of　all　the　Stuart　kings。　He　was　the　first　surgeon　to　advocate　primary　amputation；　in　gunshot　wounds；　of　the　limbs；　and　also　to　introduce　the　treatment　of　aneurisms　by　compression；　but　he　is　generally　rated　as　a　conservative　operator；　who　favored　medication　rather　than　radical　operations；　where　possible。　In　Italy；　Marcus　Aurelius　Severinus　（1580…1656）　and　Peter　Marchettis　（1589…1675）　were　the　leading　surgeons　of　their　nation。　Like　many　of　his　predecessors　in　Europe；　Severinus　ran　amuck　with　the　Holy　Inquisition　and　fled　from　Naples。　But　the　waning　of　the　powerful　arm　of　the　Church　is　shown　by　the　fact　that　he　was　brought　back　by　the　unanimous　voice　of　the　grateful　citizens；　and　lived　in　safety　despite　the　frowns　of　the　theologians。

The　sixteenth　century　cannot　be　said　to　have　added　much　of　importance　in　the　field　of　practical　medicine；　and；　as　in　the　preceding　and　succeeding　centuries；　was　at　best　only　struggling　along　in　the　wake　of　anatomy；　physiology；　and　surgery。　In　the　seventeenth　century；　however；　at　least　one　discovery　in　therapeutics　was　made　that　has　been　an　inestimable　boon　to　humanity　ever　since。　This　was　the　introduction　of　cinchona　bark　（from　which　quinine　is　obtained）　in　1640。　But　this　century　was　productive　of　many　medical　SYSTEMS；　and　could　boast　of　many　great　names　among　the　medical　profession；　and；　on　the　whole；　made　considerably　more　progress　than　the　preceding　century。　Of　the　founders　of　medical　systems；　one　of　the　most　widely　known　is　Jan　Baptista　van　Helmont　（1578…1644）；　an　eccentric　genius　who　constructed　a　system　of　medicine　of　his　own　and　for　a　time　exerted　considerable　influence。　But　in　the　end　his　system　was　destined　to　pass　out　of　existence；　not　very　long　after　the　death　of　its　author。　Van　Helmont　was　not　only　a　physician；　but　was　master　of　all　the　other　branches　of　learning　of　the　time；　taking　up　the　study　of　medicine　and　chemistry　as　an　after…thought；　but　devoting　himself　to　them　with　the　greatest　enthusiasm　once　he　had　begun　his　investigations。　His　attitude　towards　existing　doctrines　was　as　revolutionary　as　that　of　Paracelsus；　and　he　rejected　the　teachings　of　Galen　and　all　the　ancient　writers；　although　retaining　some　of　the　views　of　Paracelsus。　He　modified　the　archaeus　of　Paracelsus；　and　added　many　complications　to　it。　He　believed　the　whole　body　to　be　controlled　by　an　archaeus　influus；　the　soul　by　the　archaei　insiti；　and　these　in　turn　controlled　by　the　central　archeus。　His　system　is　too　elaborate　and　complicated　for　full　explanation；　but　its　chief　service　to　medicine　was　in　introducing　new　chemical　methods　in　the　preparation　of　drugs。　In　this　way　he　was　indirectly　connected　with　the　establishment　of　the　Iatrochemical　school。　It　was　he　who　first　used　the　word　〃gas〃a　word　coined　by　him；　along　with　many　others　that　soon　fell　into　disuse。　The　principles　of　the　Iatrochemical　school　were　the　use　of　chemical　medicines；　and　a　theory　of　pathology　different　from　the　prevailing　〃humoral〃　pathology。　The　founder　of　this　school　was　Sylvius　（Franz　de　le　Boe；　1614…1672）；　professor　of　medicine　at　Leyden。　He　attempted　to　establish　a　permanent　system　of　medicine　based　on　the　newly　discovered　theory　of　the　circulation　and　the　new　chemistr