41314 W82 1894 PREFACE. THE following book comprises a history of medicine and the medical profession from the earliest times to the beginning of the present century, and is published in the hope that it may form a not unwelcome contribution to a neglected department of medical literature. The writer owes much to the standard histories and monographs of his subject, debts which will be duly acknowledged; but he has, in every case, gone also to the original authorities, and has attempted, so far as possible, to make the representative physicians of various ages describe their theories and practice in their own words, especially through illustrative "cases recorded by themselves. In order to combine this with the brevity demanded in such a work, matters which may be found in ordinary books of reference, or readily accessible translations, are passed over as lightly as possible, and, with few exceptions, only those practitioners are introduced who may be said to have had some definite influence on the progress of medicine. Similarly less space has been devoted to Harvey, Sydenham, Hunter, and others, whose work has been fully and frequently described by abler hands, than to the Arabic and mediæval physicians, who are usually discussed more briefly than their historical importance seems to demand. The writer is responsible for all translations not otherwise attributed, and he has endeavoured, in each case, to give the full meaning of the original, while omitting unnecessary verbiage. In nomenclature the greatest possible simplicity has been aimed at. "Christian❞ names are given in their English form; John Mesue and Isaac ben Solomon being preferred to Yuhanna ibn Masawaih and Ishacq ibn Suleiman, though the latter may more nearly represent the mode in which those distinguished men were addressed by their contemporaries. While appealing primarily to the medical profession and those connected therewith, it is hoped that the work may be not without interest to a wider circle, and everything has therefore been avoided which could reasonably render it unsuited to the family library. E. T. W. KINGSTON-ON-THAMES, June, 1894. CONTENTS. XXVIII. Arabic Medicine (1): The Translators, XXIX. Arabic Medicine (2): The Eastern Caliphate, - XXX. Arabic Medicine (3): The Western Caliphate, XXXVIII. The Close of the Middle Ages, XXXIX. Mediæval Military Medicine, XLI. The Medical Profession in the Middle Ages, I. The Medicine of China and Japan, II. The Asclepiada and the Priests of Esculapius, III. Mediæval Monastic Medicine, IV. The Galenic" System of Medicine, V. English Medical Practitioners before Linacre, VI. Ancient and Mediæval Medical Prescriptions, VII. The Alleged Vivisection of Men in the Sixteenth Century, |