The history of paediatrics : the progress of the study of diseases of children up to the end of the XVIIIth century / by George Frederic Still.

  • Still, G. Frederic (George Frederic), Sir, 1868-1941.
Date:
1931
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The history of paediatrics : the progress of the study of diseases of children up to the end of the XVIIIth century / by George Frederic Still. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    when they are just going to have an attack. . . . Young children at first fall down wherever they happen to be, through lack of being accustomed [to the attacks] but when they have frequent seizures, on feeling it is coming they rush to their mothers or to somebody else they know very well, through fear and dread of their trouble; for as yet they do not understand shame. In the first book of the Epidemics Hippocrates begins with a description of an epidemic in Thasos, the first record of mumps and of orchitis with it. Swellings beside the ears occurred in many, onesided or on both sides; in most cases without fever, the patient remaining up: there were however some who had slight fever. The swelling subsided in every case without harm, and did not suppurate in any, as do swellings from other causes. Their character was soft, large, diffuse, without inflammation or pain: they disappeared in all cases without leaving any trace. This happened in striplings, young fellows and those in their prime, and amongst these chiefly in those who were frequenting the wrestling school and gymnasia: it occurred in very few females. Several had dry coughs without expectoration: their voices were hoarse. Shortly afterwards, but in some cases after an interval, swelling accompanied with pain occurred in the testicle of one side, in some cases in both; there was fever in some cases in others none: in most this complication caused suffering. It is remarkable that, amongst the large body of writings attributed to Hippocrates, we have none dealing specially with the care of the infant, a subject to which later writers of the Graeco-Roman period, especially those who dealt at any length with affections of women as Hippocrates does, usually devoted much attention, and still more when they wrote specially on diseases of children. For this reason, if for no other, one would conjecture that the collection of Hippocratic writings is incomplete. It is not only incomplete, it is in some parts very cor¬ rupt as any one with any experience of textual criticism can hardly fail to recognize. One of the most corrupt portions of the text is unfortunately one in which some description of the care of the infant might have been expected to occur, the Trepl rpoprjs (‘On nutrition’). I think, that, as it is, one can just detect amongst the curious, detached, almost epigrammatic sentences which