) /:377 \ rlin,^ v ?u.l. .-/.. DKIiriB@®y©Tf®KY (LUiDTTytrii DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEDICAL CLASS IN CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE, AT THE OPENING OF THE FALL SESSION: 1842. BY DAVID ill. REESE, A. ill., P?I. D. PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PHYSIC IN SAID COLLEGE; AND PROFESSOR OF THE INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE, AND MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE, IN THE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, OF BALTIMORE. Published by the'Class, via itt CASTLETON, V t. ROBINSON & SOUTHMAYD, PRINTERS. 18 L<> Prof. Rli^e, Dear Swr The undersigned, Committee in behalf of the Medi- cal Class, in the Caslleton Medical College, respectfully solicit for publication, a copy of your Introductory Lecture, delivered before this Institution at the commencement of the present Session. Very respectfully, Yours, &c. II. G. DARLING, ) ALFRED RICE,, > Committee. LANGDON SAWYER, ) Castleton, Vt. August 11,1842. Castleton, Aug. 12th. 1842. GENTLEMEN,— The icquest of the Medical Class whom you represent, for a copy of my late Introductory, is complied with, because it affords me pleas- ure to gratify the pupils of our College, to whose kind consideration I owe this complimentary ... : ->f courtesy; and not because I cau imag- ine that there is any intrinsic value in a production, which was extern- pbrancously prepared in conformity with the custom which renders such a discourse imperative, and with no view to its greater publicity than by its delivery in the College Hall. Nevertheless the manuscript is at your disposal. With kindest regards for the gentlemen of the Class, and for each of you individually, 1 remain Yours truly, D. M. REESE. Messrs. Darling, Rice, and Sawyer, Com. DMTKOEIUJtOTOftY LKDTOKIL Gentlemen : We meet to day, many of us for the first time, for the purpose of entering upon a course of instruction in theoretical and practical medicine. Henceforth, for a few weeks, we are reciprocally to sus- tain the relations of teacher and pupils—one in which, if we would derive either pleasure or profit from our intercourse, it is essential that we should respect, and confide in each other. It devolves on me, to seek and secure not merely your attention, but if possible, your affections;' for, what more endearing relation than that which we this day assume ? The man who holds a chair of any depart- ment of science is unworthy of his station, who does not appreciate the responsibility he bears, when young and ardent minds are look- ing to him for that instruction, which may guide their opinions and conduct, and even shape their future destiny. But the responsibilities of which I speak are mutual, and you should be impressed with those growing out of your own relative position, as pupils of our school. By presenting yourselves here, you declare your purpose to become students of nature, with the view to cultivate the profession to which this building is consecrated, and of which we profess to'tie votaries! '\nd having chosen us as your teachers, you are to regard us henceforth as your friends and counsellors, with whom the familiarity of the domestic circle is to be cultivated; and in whom you are to confide as your companions in the professional studies upon which you have entered. Allow me to express the hope that both you and we may so fulfil our high behests, that neither of us may ever have cause to regret our asso- ciation, nor prove that we have misplaced our confidence. While for my several colleagues, I would bespeak the attention and affectionate regard which I am sure they will individually merit at your hands; and while I would award to the respective chairs they occupy all the importance they may severally claim, it is alike my province and my duty to indoctrinate you into the just appreciation of the department which I have the honor to leach. You will nrt understand me then as undervaluing any one of the other branches taught in the school, when I claim for the Theory and Practice of Medicine the dignity and importance which has, by common con- sent been awarded from time immemorial. Nor have I any appro- 4 hension that you will duly estimate it, after I shall acquaint you with its nature, and exhibit to you the direct and immediate bearing it has, upon the application of all your other knowledge to the ac- tual business of the profession. The very name of my department clearly implies, what it is im- portant you should realize at the very threshold of the course, that the Practice of Medicine is guided by principles, and hence regula- ted by theories which are both rational and intelligible. Were it otherwise, this department would neither be susceptible of being taught, nor worthy of being learned. It would not only degenerate into a mere art, but it would be inferior to the meanest of all arts, and utterly beneath the attention of the votaries of science. In- deed it would be a palpable misnomer to call it a science, if it were without fixed and determinate principles, the knowledge of which can be imparted and acquired. An enlightened theory is necessary not merely as a foundation on which a general system of rational niedical practice can be erected, adapted to the science as a whole; but in relation to individual diseases, and the employment of reme- dies in every given example of human suffering, an intelligible and rational theory can alone be a safe guide amid the intricate phases of morbid action, whether functional, organic, or complicated. It is never to be forgotten, however, that while an enlightened the- ory can alone guide us to a safe and correct practice, such theory must be itself based on facts ; and no theory is entitled to our respect which is not constructed by an accumulation of facts, and a series of rigid inductions from those facts, by minds capable of careful and Jogical scrutiny. Moreover, these facts must themselves be subjec- ted to close and critical inquiry, with the view to that accurate dis- crimination which shall preclude the semblance of error. This dil- igent scrutiny is peculiarly necessary in a science which should be rigidly one of induction, and especially when as in Medicine there is so much justice in the admonition of one of the master minds in our ranks, who declares, as the result of his investigation, that ''ninety-nine in a hundred of medical facts are medical lies." But the work of discovering and exploding these false facts, as well as the specious theories which have been based upon them, has been, for the most part happily performed to our hands. Men of the most gifted minds who have ever blessed our world, have consecra- ted their genius and toil to the examination of medical theories, and the facts upon which they have been professedly founded. The re- sults of their labors have been recorded and transmitted to us, con- stituting the history of the past; and we are thus provided with fa- cilitie3 for profiting by the lessons of medical philosophy teaching by example. It is for us, therefore, to avail ourselves of the instruc- tions thus made accessible, and construct our medical theories by the aid of all the light which experience and observation accumulat- ing for centuries are capable of imparting. As in the other depart- ments of philosophy, so also in medicine, all our theories should be the result of facts reduced to principles; and such theories on- ly will here be adopted or inculcated, for none but such merit eith- er your attention or reception. To prepare you to think correctly, and thus theorize for yourselves, it will be necessary to review the ancient and modern doctrines of general and special medicine, including the theories which have successively had their day among medical philosophers. These with the facts by which they were attempted to be sustained by their authors and adherents, will constitute the ground-work of the pres- ent course. In this brief and cursory view of the past, which is all that our time will permit, you will find that much, very much which is true in medicine is as old as Hippocrates, many of his theories having been based upon observation and experience, and being there- fore of necessity immutable. His errors were few and inconsidera- ble, even as discoverable in the advanced state of our knowledge at this day, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which he pur- sued his researches, in ignorance of human structure, except so far as it could be revealed to him by the dissection of inferior animals. Under these circumstances we are constrained at this day to marvel, not at his errors, but that he could, by possibility, have acquired the knowledge, of which his writings give evidence. All modern physicians at the present day regard Anatomy, healthy and morbid, as constituting the elements of all the accuracy to which we can attain in medicine, and their theories are constructed by studying symptoms in reference to such anatomy, and by testing the powers of remedies by experience. It is upon facts such as these, that our science is now made rigidly one of induction. Simi- lar facts have been accumulating for centuries, and as they are tan- gible in their character, and susceptible of demonstration by every inquirer for himself, the constancy of their recurrence in the hands and under the eye of every observer, affords a protection against any considerable error or fallacy. The human body having been carefully dissected by the early anatomists, and described with accuracy, though with the rudeness of antiquity, by successive inquirers; enabled their successors to verify the correctness of the ancient anatomists by ocular demon- c stration, and thus establish the uniformity of structure which u; found in all ages to characterize the human body in a normal condi- tion. Thus the facts of healthy anatomy have been accumulating from the days of Ilerophylus and Erasistratus, who were the first who had the opportunity of human dissection. Morbid anatomy has in like manner been made the subject of investigation and rec- ord by ancient and modern physicians, until a similar accumulation of facts has been established by their perpetual recurrence in dis- section, and each of us has the opportunity of verifying these facts concerning human structure in the abnormal condition. In the cul- tivation of practical anatomy by men of ardent and enlightened minds, new facts are successively brought to light, both in healthy and morbid structure, and when these new facts are clearly demon- strated and confirmed by numerous and reputable inquirers, they are added to our stock of knowledge which is thus ever augmenting, and our medical theories are by consequence improved and improv- ing by every succeeding discovery in human anatomy, In like manner morbid symptoms having been studied in the light of these anatomical facts, the functions of the several organs whose structure has been ascertained have been made the subject of inqui- ry both in health and disease. And so of the powers of remedies, which have been subjected to the test of experience during succes- sive ages, their effects diligently observed and recorded, and by fre- quent repetition proved to be facts with the certainty of actual dem- onstration. Such are the medical facts, upon which the present prevailing and received theories found their claim to the confidence of the profession and the public. To examine these facts for our- selves, and analyze the ratiocination founded upon them, by which every theory has been constructed, is the process to which we are to subject them all, and by which we may safely estimate their merits. It is true that various and even opposite theories continue to di- vide the profession to a lamentable extent into adverse and conflict- ing parties, and it is for this reason that it becomes necessary to scrutinize the pretensions of each, if we would avoid their errors.— These theories all claim to be based upon facts, and many of them, though essentially contradictory, allege the same facts as furnishing the premises upon which they are built. Hence both the facts and reasoning upon those facts, demand our discriminating inquiry, if \ye would discover in which lies the fallacy, and in what it consists. But for this, we need not resort to the subtleties of scholastic meta- physics, nor puzzle ourselves with the refinements of mysticism.— The employment of what has been aptly called medical logic, and which consists in subjecting all inedicnl theories to the criterion of 7 common sense, will suffice to protect us, both from delusion and imposition. From this briel exposition of medical theories, and the discrimi- nating scrutiny into their claims which has been reommended, you cannot fail to perceive that I would fain dissuade you from allowing yourselves to be wedded to the medical doctrines of Cullenor Brown; of Sydenham or Rush ; of Clutterbuck or Broussais; much less should-you implicitly adopt the peculiar theories of either of your cho- sen teachers and thus do all your thinking by proxy. So far from in- culcating a blind adherence to authorities, a servile sycophancy to great names, I would have you construct a theory of your own, as you proceed in the cultivation of our noble profession. If you rally under the banner of any one of the ancient sects, let it be neither the Dogmatists nor the Empirics, but take your places with the Eclectics, those independent thinkers, whose love of truth wherever they find it, never fails to elevate their disciples to ultimate eminence, success, and usefulness. To think correctly in medicine, it is essential first of all that we become intimately and familiarly acquainted with the structure and functions of the human body in health. Hence without an accu- rate knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology, the man who prates of a medical theory, or dares to enter upon medical practice, is not merely a knave, but a fool. His arrant knavery is as apparent as would be that of a blacksmith who should speculate at his anvil up- on the complex intricacies of a watch, of the structure of which he was ignorant; and his criminal folly as manifest as if he were to at- tempt the repair of its disordered machinery, by the rude implements of his craft. The mechanism of the human body is infinitely more intricate and complicated than the most delicately constructed watch, and none but he who thoroughly understands its ten thousand strings, their structure and their use, can estimate its aberrations from health, much less attempt its restoration, without either madness or crime. In order that you may either construct a medical theory worthy the name, or appreciate the merits of those already introduced, you must make yourselves familiar not oniy with the structure of the hu- man body as a whole, but with the structure and functions of its in- dividual parts, its separate organs, systems and tissues, and their reciprocal relations and sympathies. Thus only can you be pre- pared to think correctly, or judge accurately in relation to cause or causation when exemplified by morbid action, comparing the abnor- mal with the normal state : to recognize the organs or tissues suffer- ing under the morbid agcncv . or to make the all important discrun- 8 inatian between organic and functional derangements upon which consecutive knowledge in the order here named all true diagno- sis and prognosis is based. But I forbear to dwell longer on the kind and degree of knowl- edge necessary to make you enlightened theorists in medicine, and will only remind you that your future success and eminence in your profession will depend more on your theoretical training, and the habits of thinking you may adopt in medicine than upon either your genius, birth or fortune. A profound thinker who regards every new example of disease, as a new problem which he is called upon to solve, will not only be a discriminating physician but he will be a safe and successful one. Such men there are, reaping both fame and emolument, for which they are indebted more to their habit of discrimination, than either to their learning or superior skill. " As a man thinks, so is he," is a proverb as true, as it is venerable, and no where is it more amply exemplified than in the practice of med- icine. It has been well remarked that the prevailing theory of medicine in any country has an important bearing upon the popula- tion of that country, for false theories in medicine have slain more than either war, pestilence, or famine ever numbered among their victims. While the overthrow of some of the medical theories which have been thus destructive to human life, has often stript diseases of their terrors, and arrested the tide of mortality which was desola- ting the nations. The Cullenian doctrine of debility for example, | can boast a hecatomb of human sacrifices, and the Brunonian the- I ory has slain multitudes which no man can number. And so of the theory once universal, which led to the stimulating practice and hot regimen in the treatment of small pox and other inflammatory and eruptive diseases, which committed untold slaughter, until Sydenham immortalized himself as a benefactor of his race, by ex- ploding the theory and revolutionizing the practice of his prede- cessors and compeers, in this formidable class of fatal diseases. By his enlightened theory which led to the substitution of cold air and cold water, for close rooms, blankets, and hot toddy in these and other inflammatory diseases, millions have been rescued who else had fallen beneath the withering curse of brandy and opium, which were as terrible weapons of destruction, as though the patients had been subjected to fire and brimstone. It is now time to direct your attention to the practical part of the course upon which we are entering, for an acquaintance with the general principles of our science, is but the prerequisite to a safe and judicious; practice, and should be estimated proportionably if 9 we would become as we ought to be, utilitarians in medicine. If you are familiar with these general principles, and prepared to the- orize correctly, the practical application of your theories to the con- flict with disease and death, which will be your especial calling, will be both natural and easy. Not that you will attain or expect invariable success in this conflict, for "it is appointed unto men once to die," and we have not yet found the philosopher's stone of alchemy, nor the elixir of Paracelsus, which promised immortality to man in the present life. But while you will often be called to see disease in forms which will baffle all your efforts, defy your skill, and defeat the best direc- ted application of remedies, seeming to mock all the resources of our art; yet even here, the enlightened physician who has the con- sciousness of having done his whole duty, will find inexpressible support and consolation, though standing in the chamber of death. It will not then be enough to be able to say that you have done your best, if you occupy the place of another who would have done bet- ter, had you not been in the way; for every ignorant empiric might then be comforted. Nothing at such a time can sustain or console you, but the assurance that you have diligently employed all the means which enlightened science could suggest, and that you have not failed to protect the vital organs by either ignorance or timidity; and on the other hand, that your rash and violent hand has not enfeebled, exhausted and defeated the conservative powers of vitality, and thus hastened if not produced the catastrophe. In such circumstances, the thought that your medication may by possibility have hurried a fellow being into the grave before his time ; or that he might have been preserved and restored to his family but for your deficient training and limited resources in professional knowledge, if it be not silenced by the approving voice of conscience, will haunt your hours of solitude with ghostly terror. If you would avoid such loss of self-respect, and such remorse allied to the guilt of murder, beware of the ignrance of quackery, lest you share its moral penal- ty, even though legally unconvicted by human statutes. But gentlemen, we hope better things of you. In resolving to fit yourselves to be the constituted guardians of the public health, you have already given yourselves to reading and study; and virtually pledged yourselves henceforth to be diligent and laborious students of nature. In the prosecution of your laudable object, you have left your homes, and now enter upon the collegiate course of in- struction in the several departments which this institution has pro- vided. Within these walls the physical facilities are collected for 10 illustrating the various branches of the healing art, and we who are your chosen teachers welcome you to the courses of lectures upon which we are now entering. On our part, be assured that nothing shall be wanting, which our acquirements, experience, and untiring devotion to your advancement can bestow. Our single object here, and our inadequate remuneration will not allow the rational imputa- tion of any other, our single object is to make you able and accom- plished physicians, and we shall be disappointed and afflicted if you do not excel us hereafter, in all that appertains to science and skill in every department of our profession. For this result we shall la- bor without rest and without weariness throughout the term, and we confidently look for your diligent and zealous co-operation. In my department you are aware that in addition to the general principles of the science, their application to individual diseases constitutes by far the greater part of the course. A definition of each separate and particular disease, even though accompanied by an elaborate description of its rational symptoms and physical signs, and superadded to this the remedial articles from the materia medica and alimentaria adapted to each, with the method of employing them which experience has shown to be efficacious ; all this forms but an insignificant portion of our. duty here. The whole science of etiology, which includes both cause and causation, will demand our attention, for a knowledge of the morbid agencies which disturb health and superinduce disease, is indispensable to enlightened the- ory or judicious practice. So also, the subjects of diagnosis and prognosis are topics which might well be erected into a speciality by reason of their extent and value, and these must be included in the instructions given in this chair, or they would find no place in the school. And the principles which are to guide you in fulfilling therapeutic indications as they present themselves in the treatment of particular diseases, must likewise here share your attention. Nor can we consistently overlook the department of Hygeine or prophy- lactic medicine, which must be regarded as appertaining to this chair. Hence you perceive the wide and extended field before us, and I conjure you to prepare yourselves for all these kindred topics, by improving your leisure hours in the intervals of the college ex- ercises; as well as by punctual attendance upon all the lectures, not one of which can be neglected without breaking the continuous chain which together makes up the course. I charge you that knowledge on the various subjects with which v.-o have to grapple is not to be acquired by absorption. Neverthe- less you may acquaint yourselves with them all if you will but la- 11 bor, and unless you are prepared to labor and toil, you have mista- ken your calling, and you will disappoint your own hopes and thoa* of your friends. Of all the professions and trades known among men, there is none which so essentially requires "working men" as ours. But while as students first, and practitioners as well as students afterwards, our lot is one of arduous labor, not merely head-work, but labor which will employ every muscle in the body, every fibre in the brain, as well as every faculty of the mind, there are neverthe- less rewards which sweeten labor at every step of our progress. The conscious acquisition of useful knowledge of which the diligent stu- dent finds abounding evidence, and the anticipation of his future eminence and success, afford him an ample recompense for all his toils. And gentlemen when you shall hereafter encounter the labor and responsibilities of practitioners amid the pains of your professional life, there are occasions which will amply repay you for a life of toil. The presence of the ladies before me, a compliment which demands my grateful recognition, reminds me of the apprecia- tion of our noble profession which has ever characterized the sex. In the cultivation and perfection of the healing art they cannot fail to take a lively interest, for upon us its votaries very often defend not only their personal safety in seasons of trying emergency and peril, but oftener still the health and lives of those dearer to them than life itself. And it is among the prominent pleasures of our ar- duous profession, that by the triumph of medicine over disease, we are often successful in restoring some loved one to the embrace of mother, daughter, wife or sister, when hope has well nigh fled, and ravenwinged despair has been hovering over some daughter of sor- row. In such a case, when the desponding countenance is lighted up with hope, and emotions of joy and thankfulness expand the bo- som, the successful physician is then welcomed by the gratitude of woman's heart, which when manifested by woman's smiles and wo- man's tears presents a scene, and inspires emotions, which an an- gel might envy. It is to a profession thus crowned with the smilea of female loveliness that this temple of science is dedicated, and to which having consecrated ourselves we would fain initiate our pu- pils. May such gentlemen, be .your success and such your grateful re- compense. In conclusion, gentlemen, allow me to add on behalf of the Trus- tees and Faculty, whose representative I am on this occasion, a briti 12 statement of the claims on which we found our confident expecta- tions of sharing public confidence, the patronage of students, and the favor of our medical brethren. The Castleton Medical College has now been in existence nearly a quarter of a century, and while more than 2000 students have at- tended lectures in this institution, upwards of 600 graduates have left it for the active duties of the profession, many of whom have reflected honor upon this their Alma Mater, by the eminence they have attained both as practitioners and teachers. By our recent organization of the present Faculty,—the improve* ment in our college building,—the purchase of the rich and exten- sive cabinet of anatomical and pathological preparations, now per- manently placed in the adjacent museum; and the valuable additions made to the Chemical apparatus and cabinet of specimens in Natu- ral History ; we feel assured that our facilities for imparting instruc- tion are unsurpassed in any of the northern and eastern colleges.-— By the employment of drawings, plates, models, and apparatus in all their variety, the several departments are illustrated, including the practical manipulations of the art, so far as they are capable of being demonstrated to the eye. Microscopic investigations inPhys* iology and Pathology, are conducted by the respective professors in presence of the class, and for cultivating practical anatomy every desirable facility is furnished. A weekly clinique is held for clini- cal instruction, affording opportunities for witnessing surgical disea* ses and their treatment, and some idea of the extent of the opportu- nities afforded may be formed from the fact that more than 60 of such patients have been operated on during the late term, in the an- atomical theatre. The Professor of Ophthalmic Surgery has a rich variety of models, drawings and apparatus for his department, and at every clinique practical instruction is given by the treatment of the various diseases of the eye. While the numerous specimens in the cabinet of the Professor of Materia Medica are ample and ex- tensive. In all these respects we challenge a comparison with rival schools, and are content to abide the issue, You cannot imagine, gentlemen, that I can personally have any undue partiality to an inland town, as the seat of a medical college. I have myself been educated in one of the largest cities on the At- lantic coast, and my professional life, both as a practitioner and teacher, has been spent in large and populous cities. At the present time I hold a Professorship in a University located in a large city. But I cannot withhold the expression of my impressions on finding myself surrounded by a class of medical students in this beautiful 13 town, amid the romantic hills which surround us on every hand.— Remote as we are from the ten thousand snares and dangers atten- dant upon college life in large and populous cities, and aloof from the multiplied sources of excitement and agitation inseparable from a city residence, our location in this retired spot, would seem to of- fer peculiar facilities for reflection and study; where, as in the aca- demic groves of the ancient Lyceum, we may cultivate the pursuits of philosophy without annoyance or interruption from without.— And while I would make no comparison which would be deemed invidious, I may claim for this college, a healthy location in the midst of a virtuous population, happily exempt from those fashiona- ble places of public entertainment, where vice is decked in an at- tractive garb, and where demoralizing influences are arrayed in splendicfmagnificence, thus lending a charm to the corrupting snares so often fatal to the young. Here the practice of sobriety and tem- perance is universal, the public sentiment of the entire population having banished the traffic and use of all intoxicating drinks, by withholding licenses, even from the hotels, within miles around their quiet town. Surely parents and guardians will duly estimate the ad- vantages thus conferred upon the rising generation, by drying up one of the prolific fountains of physical and moral evil in the vicin- ity of our college. When our proudly eminent rivals in the city, are able to make a similar announcement, we shall no longer make an exclusive claim to this pre-eminence. Lastly, for an equal amount and variety of professional instruc- tion, this college acknowledges no rival in the not unimportant item of economy of expense. And though the business of cheapening medical education, is sometimes treated with a sneer, and those who are thus occupied in this utilitarian labor, are decried and deprecia- ted by certain would be monopolists in the craft, we are willing to labor on in our vocation, content with being appreciated by those to whom we are useful. For while we live in a country in which free competition in every department is the life of business, we ex- pect and desire no patronage other than fair and honorable rivalship shall secure, and by our comparative merits with our sister colleges, we are willing to be judged, by the profession and the public. And should we abide this test, and provide adequate medical education here at a cheaper rate than it can* elsewhere be obtained, and of a kind and degree equal to that for which others exact more than dou- ble the amount of fees, we shall be guiltless of the sin of extortion, however we may be censured for diminishing the emoluments of our peniQrs. We may thus introduce those into the profession, whose 14 limited finances are associated with a spirit, which would rather pay for their instructions at a moderate rate, than accept a gratuitous place on the half-price or charity list of a Faculty, whose fees are higher, but who would nevertheless esteem the numerical increase of their matriculation roll, an ample remuneration. For there are many whose pecuniary means impose the obligation of economy in acquiring their profession, who though every way worthy of the fra- ternity, would sooner forego the distinction, than incur the obliga- tion of being indebted to their teachers, for either gratuitous, or half price accommodation. Such there are who appreciate the advanta- ges of this school, and such are ever welcome, because they consti- tute a class whom we feel honored in being instrumental of introduc- ing into the profession. To extend the facilities of obtaining a thorough medical training, we have established two courses of lectures annually, the one in the Spring and the other in the Fall; and as no fee is required after at- tendance upon two full courses, we thus present an opportunity and inducement for students to attend at several successive sessions, dur- ing the legal period for study, and avail themselves of the advanta- ges thus furnished, for familiarizing themselves with every depart- mdnt, by attending repeated courses of lectures without additional expense, and at seasons of the year which may best suit their con- venience. Having #thus discharged the duty which I owe the officiary of the college in the relation I sustain to the Institution, I invite you, gen- tlemen of the medical class to all the facilities which we have here collected for the present session. In the name and on behalf of my colleagues, I solicit your diligent attention to all the departments which shall successively occupy the hours allotted to instruction, and allow me to assure you of our united exertions to aid you in the acquisition of knowledge, by every means in our power. Let us mutually act our parts, as becomes our reciprocal relations, and our present session will henceforward be an era to which we may recur with satisfaction in our future history. CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE. SPRING COURSE OF LECTURES. The next Spring Course of Lectures will be commenced on the first Thursday in March, 1843, and be continued fourteen weeks. The opening Introductory Lecture will be delivered by Prof. Reese. FACILTY. JAMES McCLINTOCK, M. D. Professor of Anatomy and Operative Surgery. JOSEPH PERKINS, M. D. Pivfessor of Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Obstetrics. DAVID M. REESE, M. D. Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine, and Principles of Surgery. CHAUNCEY L. MITCHELL, M. D. Professor of Physiology, General Pathology, and Operative Obstetrics. WILLIAM C. WALLACE, M. D. Professor of Ophthalmic Anatomy and Surgery. WILLIAM P. RUSSEL, M. D. Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. EZRA S. CARR, M. D. Professor of Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Natural History. EGBERT JAMIESON, M. D. Demonstrator of Anatomy. The village of Castleton is delightfully located, and is easy of ac- cess, being but 14 miles from Whitehall, N. Y. Fees for the Course, $50. Matriculation Fee, $5. Graduation Fee $16. Fee for those who have attended two full Courses at other Institutions, $10. Good Boarding, including fuel, lights, &c. at from $1,50 to £2,25 per week. JAMES McCLINTOCK, M. D. President. JOSEPH PERKINS, M. D. Registrar. Castleton, Tt. August 25,- 1842. BMTW@©y©ir@ifiY tLiKDirty&Ki DELIVERED BEFORE THE MEDICAL CLASS IN CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE, AT THE OPENING 01 THE FALL SESSION; 1842. BY DAVID HI. REESE, A. HI , J?I. D. PROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THYSIC IN SAtfJ COLLEGE ; AND PROFESSOR OF THE INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE, AND MEDKAl, JURISPRUDENCE, IN THE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, nr BALTIMORE. Published by the Class, C \ STLETON, V t. ROBINSON & S0UT1IMAYJ), 1*11 INT Eft 3. ? S 1 ^ Prof. Reese, Dear Sir,-- The undersigned, Committee in behalf of the Medi- cal Class, in tho Castleton Medical College, respectfully solicit for publication, a copy of your Introductory Lecture, delivered before this Institution at the commencement of the present Session. Very respectfully, Yours, &c. II. G. DARLING, ) ALFRED RICE, V Committee. LANGDON SAWYER,) Casllelon, Vt. August 11,1842. Castleton, Aug. 12th. 1842, Gentlemen,— The lequest of the Medical Class whom you represent, for a eopy of my late Introductory, is complied with, because it affords me pleas- ure to gratify the pupils of our College, to whose kind consideration I owe this complimentary act of courtesy; and not because I can imag- ine that there is any intrinsic value in a production, which was extem- poraneously prepared in conformity with the custom which renders such a discourse imperative, and with no view to its greater publicity than by its delivery in the College Hall. Nevertheless the manuscript is at your disposal. With kindest regards for the gentlemen of the Class, and for each of you individually, I remain Yourg truly, D. M. KEESE. Messrs. Darling, Rice, and Sawyer, Com. flirWewMCTOmf (LdOTrTOtL Gentlemen: We meet to day, many of us for the first time, for the purpose of entering upon a course of instruction in theoretical and practical medicine. Henceforth, for a few weeks, we are reciprocally to sus- tain the relations of teacher and pupils—one in which, if we would derive either pleasure or profit from our intercourse, it is essentia! that we should respect, and confide in each other. It devolves on me, to seek and secure not merely your attention, but if possible, your affections; for, what more endearing relation than that which we this day assume ? The man who holds a chair of any depart- ment of science is unworthy of his station, who does not appreciate the responsibility he bears, when young and ardent minds are look- ing to him for that instruction, which may guide their opinions and conduct, and even shape their future destiny. But the responsibilities of which I speak are mutual, and you should be impressed with those growing out of your own relative position, as pupils of our school. By presenting yourselves here, you declare your purpose to become students of nature, with the view to cultivate the profession to which this building is consecrated, and of which we profess to be votaries. And having chosen us as your teachers, you are to regard us henceforth as your friends and counsellors, with whom the familiarity of the domestic circle is to be cultivated; and in whom you are to confide as your companions in the professional studies upon which you have entered. Allow me to express the hope that both you and we may so fulfil our high behests, that neither of us may ever have cause to regret our asso- ciation, nor prove that we have misplaced our confidence. While for my several colleagues, I would bespeak the attention and affectionate regard which I am sure they will individually merit at your hands; and while I would award to the respective chairs they occupy all the importance they may severally claim, it is alike my province and my duty to indoctrinate you into the just appreciation of the department which I have the honor to teach. You will not understand me then as undervaluing any one of the other branches; taught in the school, when I claim for the Theory and Practice of Medicine the dignity and importance which has, by common con- sent been awarded from time immemorial. Nor have I any appre- 4 hension that you will duly estimate it, after I shall acquaint you with its nature, and exhibit to you the direct and immediate bearing it has, upon the application of all your other knowledge to the ac- tual business of the profession. 'The very name of my department clearly implies, what it is im- portant you should realize at the very threshold of the course, that the Practice of Medicine is guided by principles, and hence regula- ted by theories which are both rational and intelligible. Were it .otherwise, this department would neither be susceptible of being jf aught, nor worthy of being learned. It would not only degenerate into a mere art, but it would be inferior to the meanest of all arts, and utterly beneath the attention of the votaries of science. In- dee$ it would be a palpable misnomer to call it a science, if it were without fixed and determinate principles, the knowledge of which can be imparted and acquired. An enlightened theory is necessary not merely as a foundation on which a general system of rational medical practice can be erected, adapted to the science as a whole; but in relation to individual diseases, and the employment of reme- dies in every given example of human suffering, an intelligible and rational theory can alone be a safe guide amid the intricate phases ,of morbid action, whether functional, organic, or complicated. It is never to be forgotten, however, that while an enlightened the- pry can alone guide us to a safe and correct practice, such theory must be itself based on facts ; and no theory is entitled to our respect which is not constructed by an accumulation of facts, and a series of rigid inductions from those facts, by minds capable of careful and logical scrutiny. Moreover, these facts must themselves be subjec- ted to close and critical inquiry, with the view to that accurate dis>- .crimination which shall preclude the semblance of error. This dil- igent scrutiny is peculiarly necessary in a science which should be jrigidly one of induction? and especially wh^n as in Medicine there is so much justice in the admonition of one of the master minds in our ranks, who declares, as the result of J^is investigation, that ''ninety-nine in a hundred of medical facts are medical lies." But the work of discovering and exploding these false facts, as well as the specious theories which have b(een based upon them, has been, for the most part happily performed to our hands. Men of the most gifted minds wJjio have ever blessed our world, have consecra- ted their genius and toil to the examination of medical theories, and the facts upon which they have been professedly founded. The re- sults of their labors have been recorded and transmitted to us, con* stitutingthe history of the past; and we are thus provided with fa, cilities for profiting by the lessons of medical philosophy teaching by example. It is for us, therefore, to avail ourselves of the instruc- tions thus made accessible, and construct our medical theories by the aid of all the light which experience and observation accumulat- ing for centuries are capable of imparting. As in the other depart- ments of philosophy, so also in medicine, all our theories should be the result of facts reduced to principles; and such theories on- ly will here be adopted or inculcated, for none but such merit eith- er your attention or reception. To prepare you to think correctly, and thus theorize for yourselves, it will be necessary to review the ancient and modern doctrines of general and special medicine, including the theories which have successively had their day among medical philosophers. These with the facts by which they were attempted to be sustained by their authors and adherents, will constitute the ground-work of the pres- ent course. In this brief and cursory view of the past, which is all that our time will permit, you will find that much, very much which is true in medicine is as old as Hippocrates, many of his theories having been based upon observation and experience, and being there- fore of necessity immutable. His errors were few and inconsidera- ble even as discoverable in the advanced state of our knowledge at this day notwithstanding the disadvantages under which he pur- sued his' researches, in ignorance of human structure, except so far as it could be revealed to him by the dissection of inferior animals. Under these circumstances we are constrained at this day to marvel, not at his errors, but that he could, by possibility, have acquired the knowledge, of which his writings give evidence. All modern physicians at the present day regard Anatomy, healthy and morbid, as constituting the elements of all the accuracy to which we can attain in medicine, and their theories are constructed by studying symptoms in reference to such anatomy, and by testing the powers of remedies by experience. It is upon facts such as these that our science is now made rigidly one of induction. Simi- hr facts have been accumulating for centuries, and as they are tan- gible in their character, and susceptible of demonstration by every Luirer for himself, the constancy of their recurrence in the hands and under the eye of every observer, affords a protection against any considerable error or fallacy. The human body having been carefully dissected by the early ,„atomists, and described with accuracy, though with the rudeness of antiquity, by successive inqun^rs; enabled their successors to verify the correctness of the ancient anatomists by ocular demon- 6 tration, and thus establish the uniformity of structure which is found in all ages to characterize the human body in a normal condi- tion, Thus the facts of healthy anatomy have been accumulating from the days of Herophylns and Erasistratus, who were the first who had the opportunity of human dissection. Morbid anatomy has in like manner been made the subject of investigation and rec- ord by ancient and modern physicians, until a similar accumulation of facts has been established by their perpetual recurrence in dis- section, and each of us has the opportunity of verifying these facts concerning human structure in the abnormal condition. In the cul- tivation of practical anatomy by men of ardent and enlightened minds, new facts are successively brought to light, both in healthy and morbid structure, and when these new facts are clearly demon- strated and confirmed by numerous and reputable inquirers, they are added to our stock of knowledge which is thus ever augmenting, and our medical theories are by consequence improved and improv- ing by every succeeding discovery in human anatomy. In like manner morbid symptoms having been studied in the light of these anatomical facts, the functions of the several organs whose structure has been ascertained have been made the subject of inqui- ry both in health and disease. And so of the powers of remedies, which have been subjected to the test of experience during succes- sive ages, their effects diligently observed and recorded, and by fre- quent repetition proved to be facts with the certainty of actual dem- onstration. Such are the medical facts, upon which the present prevailing and received theories found their claim to the confidence of the profession and the public. To examine these facts for our- selves, and analyze the ratiocination founded upon them, by which every theory has been constructed, is the process to which we are to subject them all, and by which we may safely estimate their merits. It is true that various and even opposite theories continue to di- vide the profession to a lamentable extent into adverse and conflict- ing parties, and it is for this reason that it becomes necessary to scrutinize the pretensions of each, if we would avoid their errors.— These theories all claim to be based upon facts, and many of them, though essentially contradictory, allege the same facts as furnishing the premises upon which they are built. Hence both the facts and reasoning upon those facts, demand our discriminating inquiry, if we would discover in which lies the fallacy, and in what it consists. But for this, we need not resort to the subtleties of scholastic meta- physics, nor puzzle ourselves with the refinements of mysticism.— The employment of what has been aptly called medical logic, and which consists in subjecting all medical theories to the criterion of / common sense, will suffice to protect us, both from delusion and imposition. From this brief exposition of medical theories, and the discrimi- nating scrutiny into their claims which has been reommended, you cannot fail to perceive that I would fain dissuade you from allowing yourselves to be wedded to the medical doctrines of Cullenor Brown; of Sydenham or Rush ; of Clutterbuck or Broussais; much less should you implicitly adopt the peculiar theories of either of your cho- sen teachers and thus do all your thinking by proxy. So far from in- culcating a blind adherence to authorities, a servile sycophancy to great names, I would have you construct a theory of your own, as you proceed in the cultivation of our noble profession. If you rally under the banner of any one of the ancient sects, let it be neither the Dogmatists nor the Empirics, but take your places with the Eclectics, those independent thinkers, whose love of truth wherever they find it, never fails to elevate their disciples to ultimate eminence, success, and usefulness. To think correctly in medicine, it is essential first of all that we become intimately and familiarly acquainted with the structure and functions of the human body in health. Hence without an accu- rate knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology, the man who prates o£^ a medical theory, or dares to enter upon medical practice, is not merely a knave, but a fool. His arrant knavery is as apparent as would be that of a blacksmith who should speculate at his anvil up- on the complex intricacies of a watch, of the structure of which he was ignorant; and his criminal folly as manifest as if he were to at- tempt the repair of its disordered machinery, by the rude implements of his craft. The mechanism of the human body is infinitely more intricate and complicated than the most delicately constructed watch, and none but he who thoroughly understands its ten thousand strings, their structure and their use, can estimate its aberrations from health, much less attempt its restoration, without either madness or crime. In order that you may either construct a medical theory worthy the name, or appreciate the merits of those already introduced, you must make yourselves familiar not only with the structure of the hu- man body as a whole, but with the structure and functions of its in- dividual parts, its separate organs, systems and tissues, and their reciprocal relations and sympathies. Thus only can you be pre- pared to think correctly, or judge accurately in relation to cause or causation when exemplified by morbid action, comparing the abnor- mal with the normal state ; to recognize the organs or tissues suffer- ing under the morbid agency ; or to make the all important discrim- 8 inati»n between organic and functional derangements upon which consecutive knowledge in the order here named all true diagno- sis and prognosis is based. But I forbear to dwell longer on the kind and degree of knowl- edge necessary to make you enlightened theorists in medicine, and will only remind you that your future success and eminence in your profession will depend more on your theoretical training, and the habits of thinking you may adopt in medicine than upon either your genius, birth or fortune. A profound thinker who regards every new example of disease, as a new problem which he is called upon to solve, will not only be a discriminating physician but he will be a safe and successful one. Such men there are, reaping both fame and emolument, for which they are indebted more to their habit of discrimination, than either to their learning or superior skill. '" As a man thinks, so is he," is a proverb as true, as it is venerable, and no where is it more amply exemplified than in the practice of med- icine. It has been well remarked that the prevailing theory of medicine in any country has an important bearing upon the popula- tion of that country, for false theories in medicine have slain more than either war, pestilence, or famine ever numbered among their victims. While the overthrow of some of the medical theories which have been thus destructive to human life, has often stript diseases of stheir terrors, and arrested the tide of mortality which was desola- ting the nations. The Cullenian doctrine of debility for example, «an boast a hecatomb of human sacrifices, and the Brunonian the- 'ory has slain multitudes which no man can number. And so of *he theory once universal, which led to the stimulating practice and hot regimen in the treatment of small pox and other inflammatory and eruptive diseases, which committed untold slaughter, until Sydenham immortalized himself as a benefactor of his race, by ex- ploding the theory and revolutionizing the practice of his prede- cessors and compeers, in this formidable class of fatal diseases. By his enlightened theory which led to the substitution of cold air and cold water, for close rooms, blankets, and hot toddy in these and other inflammatory diseases, millions have been rescued who else had fallen beneath the withering curse of brandy and opium, which were as terrible weapons of destruction, as though the patients had been subjected to fire and brimstone. It is now time to direct your attention to the practical part of the course upon which we are entering, for an acquaintance with the general principles of our science, is but the prerequisite to a- safe and judicious practice, and should be estimated proportionablv if we would become as we ought to be, utilitariaiig in medicine. If you are familiar with these general principles, and prepared to the- orize correctly, the practical application of your theories to the con- flict with disease and death, which will be your especial calling, will be both natural and easy. Not that you will attain or expect invariable success in this conflict, for "it is appointed unto men once to die," and we have not yet found the philosopher's stone* of alchemy, nor the elixir of Paracelsus, which promised immortality to man in the present life. But while you will often be called to see disease in forms which will baffle all your efforts, defy your skill, and defeat the best direc- ted application of remedies, seeming to mock all the resources of our art; yet even here, the enlightened physician who has the con- sciousness of having done his whole duty, will.find inexpressible support and consolation, though standing in the chamber of death. It will not then be enough to be able to say that you have done your best, if you occupy the place of another who would have done bet- ter, had you not been in the way; for every ignorant empiric might then be comforted. Nothing at such a time can sustain or console you, but the assurance that you have diligently employed all the means which enlightened science could suggest, and that you have not failed to protect the vital organs by either ignorance or timidity; and on the other hand, that your rash and violent hand has not enfeebled, exhausted and defeated the conservative powers of vitality, and thus hastened if not produced the catastrophe. In such circumstances, the thought that your medication may by possibility have hurried a fellow being into the grave before his time ; or that he might have been preserved and restored to his family but for your deficient training and limited resources in professional knowledge, if it be not silenced by the approving voice of conscience, will haunt your hours of solitude with ghostly terror. If you would avoid such loss of self-respect, and such remorse allied to the guilt of murder, beware of the ignrance of quackery, lest you share its moral penal- ty even though legally unconvicted by human statutes. But gentlemen, we hope better things of you. In resolving to fit yourselves to be the constituted guardians of tire public health, you have already given yourselves to rea-ding and study; and virtually " pledged yourselves henceforth to be diligent and laborious students of nature. In the prosecution of your laudable object, you have left your homes, and now enter upon the collegiate course of in- struction in the several departments which this institution has pro- vided. Within these Avails the physical facilities are collected for 10 illustrating the various branches of the healing art, and we who are your chosen teachers welcome you to the •courses of lectures upon which we are now entering. On our part, be assured that nothing shall be wanting, which our acquirements, experience, and untiring devotion to your advancement can bestow. Our single object here, and our inadequate remuneration will not allow the rational imputa- tion of any other, our single object is to make you able and accom- plished physicians, and we shall be disappointed and afflicted if you do not excel us hereafter, in all that appertains to science and skill in every department of our profession. For this result we shall la- bor without rest and without weariness throughout the term, and we confidently look for your diligent and zealous co-operation. In my department you are aware that in addition to the general principles of the science, their application to individual diseases constitutes by far the greater part of the course. A definition of each separate and particular disease, even though accompanied by an elaborate description of its rational symptoms and physical signs, and superadded to this the remedial articles from the materia medica and alimentaria adapted to each, with the method of employing them which experience has shown to be efficacious ; all this forms but an insignificant portion of our duty here. The whole science of etiology, which includes both cause and causation, will demand our attention, for a knowledge of the morbid agencies which disturb health and superinduce disease, is indispensable to enlightened the- ory or judicious practice. So also, the subjects of diagnosis and prognosis are topics which might well be erected into a speciality by reason of their extent and value, and these must be included in the instructions given in this chair, or they would find no place in the school. And the principles which are to guide you in fulfilling therapeutic indications as they present themselves in the treatment of particular diseases, must likewise here share your attention. Nor can we consistently overlook the department of Hygeine or prophy- lactic medicine, which must be regarded as appertaining to this chair. Hence you perceive the wide and extended field before us, and I conjure you to prepare yourselves for all these kindred topics, by improving your leisure hours in the intervals of the college ex- ercises; as well as by punctual attendance upon all the lectures, not one of which can be neglected without breaking the continuous chain which together makes up the course. I charge you that knowledge on the various subjects with which we have to grapple is not to be acquired by absorption. Neverthe- less you may acquaint yourselves with them all if you will but la- bor, and unless you are prepared to labor and toil, you have mista- ken your calling, and you will disappoint your own hopes and those of your friends. Of all the professions and trades known among men, there is none which so essentially requires "working men" as ours. But while as students first, and practitioners as well as students afterwards, our lot is one of arduous labor, not merely head-work, but labor which will employ every muscle in the body, every fibre in the brain, as well as every faculty of the mind, there are neverthe- less rewards which sweeten labor at every step of our progress. Tlie conscious acquisition of useful knowledge of which the diligent stu- dent finds abounding evidence, and the anticipation of his future eminence and success, afford him an ample recompense for all his toils. And gentlemen when you shall hereafter encounter the labor and responsibilities of practitioners amid the pains of your professional life, there are occasions which will amply repay you for a life of toil. The presence of the ladies before me, a compliment which demands my grateful recognition, reminds me of the apprecia- tion of our noble profession which has ever characterized the sex. In the cultivation and perfection of the healing art they cannot fail to take a lively interest, for upon us its votaries very often defend not only their personal safety in seasons of trying emergency and peril, but oftener still the health and lives of those dearer to them than life itself. And it is among the prominent pleasures of our ar- duous profession, that by the triumph of medicine over disease, we are often successful in restoring some loved one to the embrace of mother, daughter, wife or sister, when hope has well nigh fled, and ravenwinged despair has been hovering over some daughter of sor- row. In such a case, when the desponding countenance is lighted up with hope, and emotions of joy and thankfulness expand the bo- som, the successful physician is then welcomed by the gratitude of woman's heart, which when manifested by woman's smiles and wo- man's tears presents a scene, and inspires emotions, which an an- gel might envy. It is to a profession thus crowned with the smiles of female loveliness that this temple of science is dedicated, and to which having consecrated ourselves we would fain initiate our pu- pils. May such gentlemen, be your success and such your grateful re- compense. In conclusion, gentlemen, allow me to add on behalf of the Trus- tees and Faculty, whose representative I am on this occasion, a brief Ii statement of the claims on which we found our confident expecta- tions of sharing public confidence, the patronage of students, and the favor of our medical brethren. The Castleton Medical College has now been in existence nearly a quarter of a century, and while more than 2000 students have at- tended lectures in this institution, upwards of 600 graduates have left it for the active duties of the profession, many of whom have reflected honor upon this their Alma Mater, by the eminence they riave attained both as practitioners and teachers. By our recent organization of the present Faculty,—the improve- ment in our college building,—the purchase of the rich and exten- sive cabinet of anatomical and pathological preparations, now per- manently placed in the adjacent museum; and the valuable additions made to the Chemical apparatus and cabinet of specimens in Natu- ral History ; we feel assured that our facilities for imparting instruc- tion are unsurpassed in any of the northern and eastern colleges.— By the employment of drawings, plates, models, and apparatus in all their variety, the several departments are illustrated, including the practical manipulations of the art, so far as they are capable of being demonstrated to the eye. Microscopic investigations in Phys- iology and Pathology, are conducted by the respective professors in presence of the class, and for cultivating practical anatomy every desirable facility is furnished. A weekly clinique is held for clini- cal instruction, affording opportunities for witnessing surgical disea- ses and their treatment, and some idea of the extent of the opportu- nities afforded may be formed from the fact that more than 60 of such patients have been operated on during the late term, in the an- atomical theatre. The Professor of Ophthalmic Surgery has a rich variety of models, drawings and apparatus for his department, and at every clinique practical instruction is given by the treatment of the various diseases of the eye. While the numerous specimens in the cabinet of the Professor of Materia Medica are ample and ex- tensive. In all these respects we challenge a comparison with rival schools, and are content to abide the issue. You cannot imagine, gentlemen, that I can personally have any undue partiality to an inland town, as the seat of a medical college. I have myself been educated in one of the largest cities on the At- lantic coast, and my professional life, both as a practitioner and teacher, has been spent in large and populous cities. At the present time I hold a Professorship in a University located in a large city. But I cannot withhold the expression of my impressions on finding myself surrounded by a class of medical students in this beautiful 13 town, amid the romantic hills which surround ub on every hand.— Remote as we are trom the ten thousand snares and dangers atten- dant upon college life in large and populous cities, and aloof from the multiplied sources of excitement and agitation inseparable from a city residence, our location in this retired spot, would seem to of- fer peculiar facilities for reflection and study; where, as in the aca- demic groves of the ancient Lyceum, we may cultivate the pursuits of philosophy without annoyance or interruption from without.— And while I would make no comparison which would be deemed invidious, I may claim for this college, a healthy location in the midst of a virtuous population, happily exempt from those fashiona- ble places of public entertainment, where vice is decked in an at- tractive garb, and where demoralizing influences are arrayed in splendid magnificence, thus lending a charm to the corrupting snares so often fataf to the young. Here the practice of sobriety and tem- perance is universal, the public sentiment of the entire population having banished the traffic and use of all intoxicating drinks, by withholding licenses, even from the hotels, within miles around their quiet town. Surely parents and guardians will duly estimate the ad- vantages thus conferred upon the rising generation, by drying up one of the prolific fountains of physical and moral evil in the vicin- ity of our college. When our proudly eminent rivals in the city, are able to make a similar announcement, we shall no longer make an exclusive claim to this pre-eminence. Lastly, for an equal amount and variety of professional instruc- tion, this college acknowledges no rival in the not unimportant item of economy of expense. And though the business of cheapening medical education, is sometimes treated with a sneer, and those who are thus occupied in this utilitarian labor, are decried and deprecia- ted by certain would be monopolists in the craft, we are willing to labor on in our vocation, content with being appreciated by those to whom we are useful. For while we live in a country in which free competition in every department is the life of business, we ex- pect and desire no patronage other than fair and honorable rivalship shall secure, and by our comparative merits with our sister colleges, we are willing to be judged, by the profession and the public. And should we abide this test, and provide adequate medical education here at a cheaper rate than it can elsewhere be obtained, and of a kind and degree equal to that for which others exact more than dou- ble the amount of fees, we shall be guiltless of the sin of extortion, however we may be censured for diminishing the emoluments of our ■eniorB. We may thus introduce those into the profession, whose 14 limited finances are associated with a spirit, which would rather pay for their instructions at a moderate rate, than accept a gratuitous place on the half-price or charity list of a Faculty, whose fees are higher, but who would nevertheless esteem the numerical increase of their matriculation roll, an ample remuneration. For there are many whose pecuniary means impose the obligation of economy in acquiring their profession, who though every way worthy of the fra- ternity, would sooner forego the distinction, than incur the obliga- tion of being indebted to their teachers, for either gratuitous, or half price accommodation. Such there are who appreciate the advanta- ges of this school, and such are ever welcome, because they consti- tute a class whom we feel honored in being instrumental of introduc- ing into the profession. To extend the facilities of obtaining a thorough medical training, we have established two courses of lectures annually, the one in the Spring and the other in the Fall; and as no fee is required after at- tendance upon two full courses, we thus present an opportunity and inducement for students to attend at several successive sessions, dur- ing the legal period for study, and avail themselves of the advanta- ges thus furnished, for familiarizing themselves with every depart- mdnt, by attending repeated courses of lectures without additional expense, and at seasons of the year which may best suit their con- venience. Having thus discharged the duty which I owe the officiary of the college in the relation I sustain to the Institution, I invite you, gen- tlemen of the medical class to all the facilities which we have here collected for the present session. In the name and on behalf of my colleagues, I solicit your diligent attention to all the departments which shall successively occupy the hours allotted to instruction, and allow me to assure you qf our united exertions to aid you in the acquisition of knowledge, by every means in our power. Let us mutually act our parts, as becomes our reciprocal relations, and our present session will henceforward be an era to which we may recur with satisfaction in our future history. CASTLETON MEDICAL COLLEGE. SPRING COURSE OF LECTURES. The next Spring Course of Lectures will be commenced on the first Thursday in March, 1843, and be continued fourteen weeks. The opening Introductory Lecture will be delivered by Prof. Reese. FACULTY. JAMES McCLINTOCK, M. D. Professor of Anatomy and Operative Surgery. JOSEPH PERKINS, M. D. Professor of Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Obstetrics. DAVID M. REESE, M. D. Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine, a?id Principles of Surgery. CHAUNCEY L. MITCHELL, M. D. Professor of Physiology, General Pathology, and Operative Obstetrics. WILLIAM C. WALLACE, M. D. Professor of Ophthalmic Anatomy and Surgery. WILLIAM P. RUSSEL, M. D. Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. EZRA S. CARR, M. D. Professor of Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Natural History. EGBERT JAMIESON, M. D. Demonstrator of Anatomy. The village of Castleton is delightfully located, and is easy of ac- cess, being but 14 miles from Whitehall, N. Y. Fees for the Course, $50. Matriculation Fee, $5. Graduation Fee, $16. Fee for those who have attended two full Courses at other Institutions, $10. Good Boarding, including fuel, lights, &x. at from 81,50 to $2,25 per week. JAMES McCLINTOCK, M. D. President. JOSEPH PERKINS, M. D. Registrar. Castleton, Vt. August 25, 1842. s