The rise of physiology in England : the Harveian oration delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, October 18th, 1895 / by William Selby Church.

  • Church, William Selby, Sir.
Date:
1896
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The rise of physiology in England : the Harveian oration delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, October 18th, 1895 / by William Selby Church. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    69/76 page 65
    Note t, p. 33. Dr. Adams, in his preliminary discourse on the Hippocratic Treatises, vol. i, sect, ii, p. 110, prefixed to the Sydenham Society’s translation of Hippocrates, says of the author of the treatise Tlfpl (pvaioq naiEiov that he “holds that the foetus breathes and is nourished by the umbilicus, which may be looked upon as an anticipation of the modern doctrine that the placenta perform^ the function both of a lung and an intestine.” On turning to the passage in the treatise I cannot see that this contention is borne out. The Greek is as follows :— “FjV rijffi fit'iTpycTiv r) yovr) eveovcra 'iXicsi anb tou oui[xaTog dsi, oKurg dv Kai Ovvctfuog tyy. Tairy Krti r) rrvorj. Kai to fuv npolTor apxKpt) r) 7Tvor] yivsrcu. Kai to aifia bXiyov %wp££i dirb Trig prjTpog, btcbrav Es r) 7tvot] £7ri nXtlov yivtrai fiaXXov fX/cn to aipa Kai ini nXtiov KaTtp- Ktrai £7ri Tag uriTpag.” This passage, taken in connection with one which precedes it— “On Ei r) yovt) iv vpsvi icrri Kai nvorjjr t%u Kai uaur Kai t£io Kai avgerai vnb rrjg /xrirpog too a'ip,aTog KaTibvrag ini Tag —seems to me to amount to nothing more than a bald and erro- neous statement that the foetus when within the membranes breathes. The Hippocratic treatise, IIcpl fivaiog naiElov, is by all critics considered not to be a genuine work of Hippocrates, although it dates from a very early period. Note u, p. 33. We are very apt to forget how recent our knowledge of the chemical changes which take place in respiration is. John Hunter held nearly the same views of the vital spirit as Harvey, for he says, “ I should consider life as a fire, or something similar, which might for distinction be called animal fire; ” and his opinion of how this fire is maintained is entirely erroneous, for he says, “ Instead of something vivifying being taken from the air, the air carries off that principle which encloses and retains this animal
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