Medical Essays, 1842-1882

Name: Medical Essays, 1842-1882
Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Essays, Letters & Speeches Health & Medicine

About This Book

A series of essays and addresses that examine medical ideas, practices, and institutions through critical, often rhetorical prose. Topics range from skeptical analyses of popular cures and homeopathic doctrines to an argument for the contagiousness of puerperal fever, alongside reflections on the shifting currents of medical opinion and the limits of knowledge. Other pieces contrast scholastic and bedside teaching, consider the character and duties of the medical profession, offer practical counsel for young practitioners, advocate for medical libraries, and close with personal reminiscences of influential teachers and methodological appendices.

About the Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was an American physician, poet, and essayist, known for his contributions to literature and his role in the development of American thought in the 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time and is best remembered for his work "A Mortal Antipathy," which explores themes of love and social interaction through a unique narrative style. Holmes was also a key member of the Fireside Poets, a group that included notable contemporaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell. His essays, particularly those in "Medical Essays, 1842-1882," reflect his keen observations on society and culture, showcasing his wit and intellect.