Suggestions to medical writers / by George M. Gould.

  • George M. Gould
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Suggestions to medical writers / by George M. Gould. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/196 page 26
    To my genial critic who wished his words and sheep (his ladies, too, I wonder ?) to have tails and trails twice too long, I sent the following skit, to illustrate the already recognized fact of the redundancy of many word-tails, and to suggest that we either retail all the short-tailed curs, or that we curtail all the long-tailed puppies. Either one thing or the other ; if you refuse to say chemic and theo¬ retic, then you must not say scientific and hydrochloric. If you make us say chemical and theoretical, then, like a suck¬ ing dove we will roar you for consistency and ask that you be scientiftcal, or else we will prescribe nitric a l and hydro- chlorical acid for your alarming gastrical torpor and obsti¬ nacy. My strabismic letter to my friend was as follows :— Some Scientifical Difficulties. — The patient was at the Polyclinical Hospital—a very sick woman ; she was ascitical and cyanotical; she had an anemical (dicrotical or anycrotical) mur¬ mur; splanchnical and splenical dulness was pronounced. Neither the allopathical nor the homeopathical consultants could determine whether the affection was of extrinsical or intrinsical origin, whether anabolical, katabolical, atrophical, septicemical, lithemical, luetical, hemical, hemolytical, thermical, tabetical, hepatical, or encephalical. The specialists were called in, and laryngoscopical, ophthalmoscopical, gynecological and otoscop- ical examinations were made. The laryngoscopical man said a diphtherical membrane was forming, and the phrenical nerve was pressed upon. The next averred the difficulty was esophor- ical or exophorical, that a blennorrhagical inflammation, perhaps a rheumatical iritis existed. After an endoscopical examination the gynecological expert said pelvical (or pubical) disorder was present and a bad cystical and chorionical state of affairs. The ear-man claimed that the disease was specifical, that the otical ganglion was syphilitical and its condition pathognomonical. The diagnostical and prognostical difficulties were certes becom¬ ing most prolifical! As to therapeutical measures, one advised cardiacal and ton- ical treatment, another hypodermical; one thought hydriatical methods good, another antiphlogistical, while still another sug¬ gested hypnotical and soporifical agents. Galvanical and farad- ical electricity, as well as statical and franklinical, were advised.
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