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Medical Investigation in Seventeenth Century England Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar, October 14, 1967 By: Lester S. (Lester Snow) King (1908) |
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Charles W. Bodemer Lester S. King William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Medical Investigation
in Seventeenth Century
England Embryological Thought in
Seventeenth Century England by Charles W. Bodemer Robert Boyle as an Amateur Physician by Lester S. King Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar,
October 14, 1967 William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California, Los Angeles/1968
Foreword
Although the collection of scientific literature in the Clark Library
has already served as the background for a number of seminars, in the
most recent of them the literature of embryology and the medical aspects
of Robert Boyle's thought were subjected to a first and expert
examination. Charles W. Bodemer, of the Division of Biomedical History,
School of Medicine, University of Washington, evaluated the
embryological ideas of that remarkable group of inquiring Englishmen,
Sir Kenelm Digby, Nathaniel Highmore, William Harvey, and Sir Thomas
Browne. Lester S. King, Senior Editor of the Journal of the American
Medical Association , dealt with the medical side of Robert Boyle's
writings, the collection of which constitutes one of the chief glories
of the Clark Library. It was a happy marriage of subject matter and
library's wealth, the former a noteworthy oral presentation, the latter
a spectacular exhibit. As usual, and of necessity, the audience was
restricted in size, far smaller in numbers than all those who are now
able to enjoy the presentations in their present, printed form. C. D. O'MALLEY Professor of Medical History, UCLA
I Embryological Thought in Seventeenth
Century England CHARLES W. BODEMER
To discuss embryological thought in seventeenth century England is to
discuss the main currents in embryological thought at a time when those
currents were both numerous and shifting. Like every other period, the
seventeenth century was one of transition. It was an era of explosive
growth in scientific ideas and techniques, suffused with a creative urge
engendered by new philosophical insights and the excitement of
discovery. During the seventeenth century, the ideas relating to the
generation and development of organisms were quite diverse, and there
were seldom criteria other than enthusiasm or philosophical predilection
to distinguish the fanciful from the feasible. Applying a well known
phrase from another time to seventeenth century embryological theory,
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness."[1] Embryology underwent some very significant changes during the
seventeenth century. At the beginning of the century, embryology was
descriptive and clearly directed toward morphological goals; by the end
of the century, a dynamic, more physiological attitude was apparent, and
theories of development derived from an entirely different philosophic
base. During this time, English investigators contributed much, some of
ephemeral, some of lasting importance to the development of embryology.
For this discussion, we will divide the seventeenth century into three
overlapping, but generally distinct, periods; and, without pretence of
presenting an exhaustive exposition, we will concentrate upon the
concepts and directions of change characteristic of each period, with
primary reference to those individuals who best reveal the character of
seventeenth century English embryology. An understanding of the characteristics of embryological thought at the
beginning of the seventeenth century may enhance appreciation of later
developments. During the latter part of the sixteenth century, the study
of embryology was, for obvious reasons, most often considered within the
province of anatomy and obstetrics. From Bergengario da Capri to Jean
Riolan the Younger, study of the fetus was recommended as an adjunct of
these subjects, and it required investigation by direct observation, as
decreed by the "restorers" of anatomy... Continue reading book >>
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