Dr. Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689): his life and original writings / [edited by] Kenneth Dewhurst.

  • Thomas Sydenham
Date:
1966
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Dr. Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689): his life and original writings / [edited by] Kenneth Dewhurst. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ANATOMIE, 1668 1 [The opening sentence is in Sydenham's handwriting.] Others of them have more pompously and speciously prosecuted the promoting of this art by searching into the bowels of dead and living creatures, as well sound as diseased, to find out the seeds of discharging them, but with how little success such endeavours have bin or are like to be attended I shall here in some measure make appear. [The rest of the essay is in Locke's handwriting.] Anatomie noe question is absolutely necessary to a Chirurgen and to a physitian who would direct a surgeon in incision trepanning and several other operations. It often too directs the physician's hand in the right application of topicall remedys and his judgment in the prog- nostique of wounds, humors and severall other organicall diseases. It may too in many cases satisfie a physician in the effects he finds pro duced by his method or medicines, and though it gives him not a full account of the causes or their ways of operation, yet may give him some light in the observation of diseases and the ideas he shall frame of them, which, though not perhaps true in it self, yet will be a great help to his memory and guide to his practise. And not least it will be always thought an advantage for a physician to know as much of the subject he has to deal with as is possible. But that anatomie is like to afford any great improvement to the practise of physic, or assist a man in the findeing out and establishing a true method, I have reason to doubt. All that Anatomie can doe is only to shew us the gross and sensible parts of the body, or the vapid and dead juices all which, after the most diligent search, will be noe more able to direct a physician how to cure a disease than how to make a man; for to remedy the defects of a part whose organicall constitution and that texture whereby it operates, he cannot possibly know, is alike hard, as to make a part which he knows not how is made. Now it is certaine and beyond controversy that nature performs all her operations on the body by parts so minute and insensible that I thinke noe body will ever hope or pretend, even by the assistance of glasses or any other invention, to come to a sight of them, and to tell us what organicall texture or what kinde of ferment (for whether it be done by one or both of these ways is yet a question and 1 P.R.O., 30/24/47/2, if. 60-7. Sydenham used similar, though less strongly worded arguments in his writings (Works, vol. n, pp. 170-2). 85