A letter to William Smellie, M.D., containing critical and practical remarks upon his Treatise on the theory and practice of midwifery / By John Burton, M.D. Wherein the various gross mistakes and dangerous methods of practice mentioned and recommended by that writer, are fully demonstrated. And generally corrected.

  • Burton, John, 1710-1771.
Date:
MDCCLIII. [1753]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to William Smellie, M.D., containing critical and practical remarks upon his Treatise on the theory and practice of midwifery / By John Burton, M.D. Wherein the various gross mistakes and dangerous methods of practice mentioned and recommended by that writer, are fully demonstrated. And generally corrected. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ** attrahemus, hoc enim pacto obfequuntur, & a con- “ nexu folvuntur Whence you find he does not direct rhe Operator to pull the Funis at all, becaufe he does not fo much as name the Word Funis or Umbilical Chord. Whether you have wilfully mifreprefented the Author’s Meanings in order to juftify a Method of Practice re¬ commended by you, mud be left to the Reader’s Judg¬ ment. Ludovicus Bonaciolus is the fixth Author *, but alcho’ you pafs on without taking any further Notice of him, I fhall fliew a very beneficial Method of Practice re- lated by him, which you have omitted ; for his Me¬ thod will preferve many Lives, which by yours mud generally be lod. In giving an Account of' the Duty of a Midwife,he fays (^),‘ Peritiores nonnullae ob- ‘ detrices cruentum fuccum intro de umbilico reprimunt^ ‘ quo diligentiffime per a6fo, infans, qui modo exan- ‘ guisexanimaturquee vita excidebat, mox redivivatur, ‘ recreatur, vitseque redituitur.’ The next is Jacobus Sylvius^ who Is followed by Ja^ cobus Ruffus^ as you called him in tne Hrd Edition ; but his real Name Is Rueff^ if we are to trud the Title- Page of his Treat!fe as in Spachius (b)i ‘ De concep- ^ tu & generatione hominis, & iis qus circa hsec potif- ‘ fimum confiderantur, Libri fex, congedi opera Ja- ‘ cobi Rueff, Chirurgi Tigurini.’ You have omitted to tell us, that he directs (c) to fetch the ‘ Secundines, macrice adhuc diducta & aper- * ta, antequam redricta denuo connlveat.” In Pages 48, 49, you tell us, that ‘ Ruffus is the fird that gives ‘ a Draught of the Speculum Matricis, for dilating the ‘ Os Internum, which he directs to be dretched in * Width ; but by no means liCngthways, led the L’^ga- ‘ ments breaking, the Womb diould fall down but in th^ Original you will find it thus {d): ^ Plane autem ‘ viam (os Uteri) quando infans per fe (uti alias na- ‘ tura foletj) neque invenire, ncque aperire propter re- ^ drictionem interioris Portae, & propter Claudra ejus [a] Spachius, p. 142. {h) P. 166. (r) P. 175, Spaclilus. iii. cap. 6. Spach. p. 177. C 2 * im-