A report founded on the cases of typhoid fever, or the common continued fever of New-England : which occured in the Massachusetts General Hospital from the opening of that institution in September, 1821 to the end of 1835 : communicated to the Massachusetts Medical Society, in June, 1838 / by James Jackson.

  • Jackson, James, 1777-1867.
Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A report founded on the cases of typhoid fever, or the common continued fever of New-England : which occured in the Massachusetts General Hospital from the opening of that institution in September, 1821 to the end of 1835 : communicated to the Massachusetts Medical Society, in June, 1838 / by James Jackson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    to go without a cathartic. This doubt was sustained by-one of my colleagues, who had the charge of the hospital usually from July to the middle of October, more than by myself. [ commonly had the charge for five or six months from the first or middle of Oc- tober till March or April. During the years 1833, 1834 and 1835, I usually employed antimonials, ac- cording to the method of Odier, in cases admitted in the first week of the disease, and occasionally in those admitted later, except where some objection showed itself in the peculiarity of the case, and ex- cept in very slight cases. I also continued the early evacuations, but did not so often employ cathartics after the first days, as I had previously done. These statements must be borne in mind when we come to the comparison of the different modes of treatment. I trust that this full account of the view, or theory, on which each mode was pursued, will enable the reader to comprehend the treatment more perfectly than he would otherwise do. In saying this, I am fully aware that the question in each case is, not by what theory the physician is governed in his treatment of a disease, but what he has actually done. I wish also to add, for myself, that, in whatever course was adopted, I endeavored to judge fairly what support was given by the result to the usefulness of the remedies employed, and to the truth of the theory, by which their application was directed. It was not, however, until I had fin- ished a careful analysis of all our cases, the result of which I shall give, that I felt any strong convic-