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The liver and its diseases, both functional and organic
The liver and its diseases both functional and organic Author:William Morgan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LIVEB. Introduction. In order to study and carry out the practice of medicine in an accurate and scientific manner, it is essential that we should be d... more »eeply impressed with its importance; and to be so impressed, we must believe in it, and -worship it as our god. These words, or something very similar, were uttered by a continental physician of great learning, classical and philosophic lore, whose life and writings breathe a sincere philanthropy, contain a deep sense, and constitute, according to my humble opinion, the foundation and moiul status of all medical practice. It is evident, indeed, that the practitioner who has no faith in the compass that guides him, or the efficacy of his art, cannot devote himself to the study and practice of it with that zeal, perseverance, and pleasure he otherwise would have done. Moreover, it will not suffice for the physician only to be convinced of the utility and efficacy of the remedies he prescribes; it is of the greatest import to the success of such treatment, that the patient share his confidence in them as well. It is, therefore, important to all of us to form early a reasonable opinion on the degree of efficacyand certainty that may be attained in medicine. The practice of medicine, or the " Art of Healing," is not of recent birth, but stands coeval with the world's history. The question is, " Did it spring from the natural wants of man ? " or as some ancient and modern philosophers will have it, " an evidence of the degeneration of the human species?" It belongs to history alone to solve these questions; for, it appears from the most undoubted traditions, that there does not exist, and never has existed a people, whether savage or civilized, who had not some crude and primitive knowledge of medicine. We are therefore compelle...« less