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Finally, there are a few men who, during this same relatively barren period of German medical science, made permanently valuable contributions to our stock of knowledge. Among these stands out conspicuously Johann Christian Reil (1759–1813). Although lack of space prevents me from doing anything like full justice to these worthy representatives of our profession, I will endeavor to furnish in the next chapter at least sufficient information concerning their work and characters to enable the reader to place them in their proper niches in the history of medicine.

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PHYSICIANS WHO ATTAINED DISTINCTION IN SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS OF MEDICINE DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

In looking over the list of medical men who attained distinction during the first half of the eighteenth century, one can scarcely fail to note two important facts, viz., that they hailed from widely separated localities in Western Europe,—for example, from England, Holland, Northern Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy,—and also that the advances which they effected in medical knowledge were not confined to one or two departments of this science but included very nearly all the fundamental branches. Hence it could not rightly be claimed by a citizen of any one of these countries that his own nation was entitled to be considered the leader in this advance. It would be a waste of time, and would require more space than can be spared for such a purpose, to furnish here even an incomplete list of the anatomists, biologists, chemists, pharmacologists, diagnosticians, therapeutists and surgeons who during the period named took a very active part in the work. Probably Boerhaave of the University of Leyden, Holland, of whose career I have given some account in the preceding volume, deserves to be reckoned one of the first physicians who exerted a strong stimulating influence upon the movement as a whole. From a superficial examination of his writings the modern physician finds it difficult to understand why Boerhaave attained so great a degree of popularity as he indisputably did,—a popularity, too, which was of the best sort; for during the period of his professorship both students and practicing physicians flocked to Leyden from all parts of Europe, and they never tired of speaking about the great benefit which they derived from Boerhaave’s teaching. Many of them attributed this popularity more especially to his practice—which at that time was a novelty—of laying great stress upon bedside teaching and upon the importance of studying disease from direct observation of its manifestations in the living subject. Then, in addition, there is evidence that, as a teacher, Boerhaave undoubtedly possessed the gift of exerting a personal charm upon his auditors.^[3]