Graduation under the Medical and Scottish Universities Acts : with some account of the origin of universities and degrees / by Robert Christison.

  • Robert Christison
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Graduation under the Medical and Scottish Universities Acts : with some account of the origin of universities and degrees / by Robert Christison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    But this is all mere conjecture. There are old University statutes regulating the conditions for conferring degrees, and which consequently assume the pre-existence of the right to confer them. But, for anything now known, they originated in custom, and not in any State or Church authorization. Among others, a surgical degree, though not mentioned by express name, is clearly indicated as pre-existing by the statutes laying down the conditions for conferring the right of practising surgery. Thus, the following regulation is found in the Uni- versity Statutes of 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI. : “ Medicina—Medicinae Chirurgiaeque studiosus sex annos rem medicam discet ejus lectionis auditor assiduus. Anatomias duas videat bis disputet semel respondeat antequam baccalaureus fiat. Et duas anatomias faciat tres ad minimum curationes se fecisse probet antequam admittatur ad Praxin Chirurgiae.” And in 1559 and 1570, this regulation is repeated in the same terms in the reign of Queen Elizabeth [Statuta Academiae Cantabrigien- sis, pp. 149, 181, 233. Ed. J 785]. For the information in this note I am indebted to Dr. Paget; who adds, that statutes have passed the Senate of Cambridge for granting now the degree of Master in Surgery; and that the statutes have been sanctioned by the English University Commissioners.