Bøger af R. D. Mann

William William Withering's Withering'sclassic, classic, An An account account of of the thefoxglove foxglove . . . . . . , ,was was is is shown shown. . AA number number of of the the letters letters are arein in facsimile facsimileas aswell well as as published publishedexactly exactly two twohundred hundred years years ago. ago. This This book book forms forms transcription. transcription. The The letter letter with with the theOsler Osler page page numbers numbers 198 198to to 201 201 deserves deserves therefore therefore aa bicentennial bicentennial commemoration commemorationof of the the discovery discovery of of special comment. It was written by Dr. Hall Jackson on the the clinical clinical use use of of digitalis digitalis --aa drug drug which which retains retains aa significant significant specialcomment. ItwaswrittenbyDr. HallJacksonon February9th,1786andtoldWitheringthathis'inestimable place place in in the thepractice practice of of medicine medicinetoday. today. That That discovery discovery February 9th, 1786 and told Withering that his 'inestimable treatiseoraccountoftheFoxglove. . . 'had'founditswayto would, would, on onits its own, own, have havemade made Withering's Withering's medical medicalwork work treatise or account of the Foxglove . . . ' had 'found its way to important, important, just just as as his hisslim slim and and delightful delightful book book would would have have this thisremote remote part part of of the the globe'. globe'. Hall Hall]ackson Jacksonwas was writing writingfrom from made made it itmemorable. memorable.

Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541), commonly called Paracelsus, was both one of the most original medical thinkers of the sixteenth century and was the man who made opium (as laudanum), arsenic, copper sulphate, iron, lead, mercury, potassium sulphate, and sulphur part of the pharmacopoeia. A man of many parts, but a pioneer chemist, Paracelsus can be regarded as the originator of a body of work which was the precursor of chemical pharmacology and therapeutics. To no small extent he stands, therefore, as a father figure of the modern pharmaceutical industry. Today's physician who wants to look at that industry since the days of Paracelsus and weigh the great gains against the problems soon encounters difficulties. To diminish them, this Enquiry approaches its subject from historical principles. This gives increased perspective to questions asked late in the boo- these questions being prompted by medical practice outside the industry and some twenty years of drug development activity within it. In antiquity medicines often seem to have been used as part of magic and primitive man thought disease to be due to supernatural forces which he could influence. The legacy remains - and in trying to sort out what is rational in our use of drugs today we have to separate our small bits of science from the ancient magic and from modern commercial pressures and conditioning.