Notes on medical education : being replies to the inquiries addressed to teachers by the General Medical Council / by John Struthers.

  • John Struthers
Date:
1873
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on medical education : being replies to the inquiries addressed to teachers by the General Medical Council / by John Struthers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the parts of the brain and cord, the arrangement of certain nerves, the structure of the viscera, the functions of which he is discussing, the valves of the heart in giving its sounds, and so on. Formerly time was wasted in both of these classes by repetition, the teacher of Anatomy endeavouring to go into Physiology also, while the teacher of Physiology endeavoured again to go formally through General Anatomy, and in some schools even now, I understand, the teacher of Physiology gives also the Anatomy of the viscera—of those parts which concern the physician—while the teacher of Anatomy takes the parts which most concern the surgeon. It may be a convenient arrange¬ ment for the teacher of Anatomy who is occupied in surgical practice to be thus relieved of those parts of the course which most require the use of the miscroscope, and make demands on his time ; that may be a matter of necessity in some, especially in the smaller schools, but it does not tend in the direction of thoroughness of anatomical teaching. In the Scotch Uni¬ versities there is the course of Anatomy, and the course of Physiology, the latter known frequently by the ancient title of “ Institutes of Medicine,”* and supposed to include more or less Pathology. The Professors of Anatomy, on the other hand, are appointed for Anatomy, and, devoting themselves to Anatomy, teach it in all its branches. I may mention, for instance, that I hold my commission from the Crown as “ Professor of Anatomy.” The distinction in our Universities, therefore, is not a matter of arrangement. I have observed a gradual approximation to this system on the part of other schools, and my opinion is that it is the best. Without General Anatomy and the use of the microscope, anatomical instruction would not only be deprived of much of its value and interest, but would hardly be worthy of the name. Physiology proper is a very extensive subject, every day becoming of greater importance to practical medicine, and the teacher of it, by confining himself to his subject, is able to find time for experimental illustration, without which, now-a-days, a course of Physiology cannot be reckoned complete. * See my -Historical Sketch of the Edinburgh Anatomical School,” p. 84, et seq.