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- Description:
- This 6-page letter was handwritten in black ink on slightly yellowed paper by Dr. Theodore A. McGraw, M.D., who was a surgeon. The paper is printed with faint blue lines and shows the watermark, "The Richmond & Backus Co., Detroit, Mich." The text of the letter has been transcribed as follows: "On Dec. 29th 1900 in the afternoon I received a letter from Hon. Wm. C. Mayberry, Mayor of the City of Detroit asking me to write a paper on the Progress of Surgery during the century now closing. - The paper should be finished and delivered on the last day of the year. - Had I received the request earlier, I should have been glad to undertake the labor of summarizing the achievements in the surgical art and science, which have distinguished the nineteenth century and of analyzing as well as I could the influences which had led to such wonderful changes in surgical practice. I felt, however, that a hastily written article on a subject so vast and of so much importance would convey a mean impression to our descendants, of our culture and I wrote to Mr. Mayberry, declining the commission on those grounds. - He, however, insisted upon having this department of science represented and I accordingly consented to write a short article on the subject. The growth of the surgical art and science during the last hundred years has been due to many complex causes which can hardly be enumerated here. - It has felt the impulse which was communicated to all branches of learning by the great awakening of the human mind at the time of the French revolution. - There is no science which it has not laid under contribution for its own purposes and its history therefore if carried out fully, would embrace that of all sciences and arts. - Abstaining however from a discussion, which would be endless, I will only mention a few of the many important discoveries which have had a powerful influence in changing the habits of surgical thought and practice. First of all, I must note the increasing tendency manifest even in the early part of this century to determine disputed points by an appeal to experiment. Surgical experiments have to be conducted on the lower animals and excepting anaesthesia, there is hardly a great discovery in surgery closing the last century which has not been led up to by vivisection. - Before the year 1805 the profession had been in a sad state of uncertainty regarding the proper method of ligating arteries. Every surgeon approached a large operation with a dread of the secondary hemorrhages which destroyed so many lives. - Even John Hunter, when he performed the famous operation, of tying the femoral artery for aneurism, tied the artery with a tape and inserted another tape under the artery higher up, to be tied in case of secondary hemorrhage. - Jones, an English surgeon, operated on a number of dogs and studied carefully the changes produced in their arteries by different methods of ligature and published his results in 1805. It is not so much to say that this book revolutionized the surgery of the day, for it taught surgeons, what they did not know before, exactly how an artery should be tied and thus enabled them to operate with the certainty, that their patients would for the most part escape secondary hemorrhages. The second great even in surgery was the discovery of anaesthesia. - The influence of this discovery on operative surgery is almost incalculable. Before the day of anaesthesia, no surgical operation was undertaken which was not absolutely necessary and the surgeon was obliged to operate with extreme rapidity. - After anaesthetics were introduced, patients submitted themselves to the knife for lesser troubles and the surgeon, no longer urged to rapid action, became more careful and considerate. - I need not dwell on a matter which every one fully understands. The third great change in surgery was that due to the labors of Pasteur, Lyster, and others, with reference to the nature of fermentative and suppurative processes. - The causes of sepsis were shown to be the microscopic cells, which swarm, wherever life exists, in mild climates and low altitudes. Surgery on the internal organs became possible when surgeons were enabled to shut out these organisms from the great cavities of the body. This knowledge gave an enormous impulse to operative surgery, but only we who practiced surgery before the days of Lyster can realize the differences in modes of thought and practice, which have followed his teachings. - The three events which I have noticed seem to me to stand predominantly above all others as the controlling influences which have determined the development of surgical art and science in the nineteenth century. - What can be done in the twentieth century to equal these achievements of the nineteenth. - Will it be possible for the scientist to discover the nature of cancer and sarcoma? Or to hasten the disappearance from the human body of that useless and dangerous organ the appendix? Operative surgery would seem to have nearly reached its limits. Will there arise a prophylactic surgery which will eradicate the germs of disease before they have time to develop? What will the surgeon, who on the final day of the twentieth century, shall open this paper think of our theories and practice? Will he also give chloroform and aethis for anaesthesia? Will he also extirpate uterus and ovaries? Will he too, seek a quick solution of all morbid phenomena by the use of a knife - Will he too use the elastic ligature, my own invention, for the performance of gastro-enterostomy? To you, my brother, yet unborn this paper will bring you greeting from one long since dead. - Theodore A. McGraw M.D. Detroit Dec. 31st 1900"
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Collection:
- Detroit Anniversaries
- Description:
- This 6-page letter was handwritten in black ink on slightly yellowed paper by Dr. Theodore A. McGraw, M.D., who was a surgeon. The paper is printed with faint blue lines and shows the watermark, "The Richmond & Backus Co., Detroit, Mich." The text of the letter has been transcribed as follows: "On Dec. 29th 1900 in the afternoon I received a letter from Hon. Wm. C. Mayberry, Mayor of the City of Detroit asking me to write a paper on the Progress of Surgery during the century now closing. - The paper should be finished and delivered on the last day of the year. - Had I received the request earlier, I should have been glad to undertake the labor of summarizing the achievements in the surgical art and science, which have distinguished the nineteenth century and of analyzing as well as I could the influences which had led to such wonderful changes in surgical practice. I felt, however, that a hastily written article on a subject so vast and of so much importance would convey a mean impression to our descendants, of our culture and I wrote to Mr. Mayberry, declining the commission on those grounds. - He, however, insisted upon having this department of science represented and I accordingly consented to write a short article on the subject. The growth of the surgical art and science during the last hundred years has been due to many complex causes which can hardly be enumerated here. - It has felt the impulse which was communicated to all branches of learning by the great awakening of the human mind at the time of the French revolution. - There is no science which it has not laid under contribution for its own purposes and its history therefore if carried out fully, would embrace that of all sciences and arts. - Abstaining however from a discussion, which would be endless, I will only mention a few of the many important discoveries which have had a powerful influence in changing the habits of surgical thought and practice. First of all, I must note the increasing tendency manifest even in the early part of this century to determine disputed points by an appeal to experiment. Surgical experiments have to be conducted on the lower animals and excepting anaesthesia, there is hardly a great discovery in surgery closing the last century which has not been led up to by vivisection. - Before the year 1805 the profession had been in a sad state of uncertainty regarding the proper method of ligating arteries. Every surgeon approached a large operation with a dread of the secondary hemorrhages which destroyed so many lives. - Even John Hunter, when he performed the famous operation, of tying the femoral artery for aneurism, tied the artery with a tape and inserted another tape under the artery higher up, to be tied in case of secondary hemorrhage. - Jones, an English surgeon, operated on a number of dogs and studied carefully the changes produced in their arteries by different methods of ligature and published his results in 1805. It is not so much to say that this book revolutionized the surgery of the day, for it taught surgeons, what they did not know before, exactly how an artery should be tied and thus enabled them to operate with the certainty, that their patients would for the most part escape secondary hemorrhages. The second great even in surgery was the discovery of anaesthesia. - The influence of this discovery on operative surgery is almost incalculable. Before the day of anaesthesia, no surgical operation was undertaken which was not absolutely necessary and the surgeon was obliged to operate with extreme rapidity. - After anaesthetics were introduced, patients submitted themselves to the knife for lesser troubles and the surgeon, no longer urged to rapid action, became more careful and considerate. - I need not dwell on a matter which every one fully understands. The third great change in surgery was that due to the labors of Pasteur, Lyster, and others, with reference to the nature of fermentative and suppurative processes. - The causes of sepsis were shown to be the microscopic cells, which swarm, wherever life exists, in mild climates and low altitudes. Surgery on the internal organs became possible when surgeons were enabled to shut out these organisms from the great cavities of the body. This knowledge gave an enormous impulse to operative surgery, but only we who practiced surgery before the days of Lyster can realize the differences in modes of thought and practice, which have followed his teachings. - The three events which I have noticed seem to me to stand predominantly above all others as the controlling influences which have determined the development of surgical art and science in the nineteenth century. - What can be done in the twentieth century to equal these achievements of the nineteenth. - Will it be possible for the scientist to discover the nature of cancer and sarcoma? Or to hasten the disappearance from the human body of that useless and dangerous organ the appendix? Operative surgery would seem to have nearly reached its limits. Will there arise a prophylactic surgery which will eradicate the germs of disease before they have time to develop? What will the surgeon, who on the final day of the twentieth century, shall open this paper think of our theories and practice? Will he also give chloroform and aethis for anaesthesia? Will he also extirpate uterus and ovaries? Will he too, seek a quick solution of all morbid phenomena by the use of a knife - Will he too use the elastic ligature, my own invention, for the performance of gastro-enterostomy? To you, my brother, yet unborn this paper will bring you greeting from one long since dead. - Theodore A. McGraw M.D. Detroit Dec. 31st 1900"
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, June 27, 1863. During this time, Bennitt leaves Nashville, Tennessee to rejoin Rosecrans_s Army of the Cumberland as it begins the Tullahome campaign against Bragg_s Confederates. Bennitt is promoted to regiment surgeon and is stationed in Murfreesboro. He reports on camp life, condition of patients, and local and national news. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 4 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1863-06-27T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from surgeon John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, March 3, 1865. During this time, Bennitt takes his medical exams in Cincinnati and visits his family in Centreville. He is sent to Charleston, South Carolina, where his regiment is engaged in the Carolinas campaign. Confederates surrender and the 19th Michigan is transported to Detroit where they are mustered out in June. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 9 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1865-03-03T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from surgeon John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, April 7 and 10, 1864. During this time, Bennitt_s regiment is ordered south toward Chattanooga to join other Union regiments for what will become General Sherman_s Atlanta campaign. The 19th Michigan is assigned to the 20th Army Corps under General Hooker and sees action in Georgia. Bennitt is assigned to the Corps, Brigade, and Division hospitals. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 7 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1864-04-07T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, May 1863. During this time, Bennitt works as a hospital surgeon and treats the wounded of the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is reassigned to the 19th regiment, and is captured by the Confederates and spends time as a prisoner of war in Richmond. After his release, he goes to Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 3 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1863-05-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, June 14, 1863. During this time, Bennitt leaves Nashville, Tennessee to rejoin Rosecrans_s Army of the Cumberland as it begins the Tullahome campaign against Bragg_s Confederates. Bennitt is promoted to regiment surgeon and is stationed in Murfreesboro. He reports on camp life, condition of patients, and local and national news. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 4 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1863-06-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, November 10, 1861. During this time, Bennitt is enrolled in classes in the Department of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 1 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1861-11-10T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection of correspondence and diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, July 5, 1863. During this time, Bennitt leaves Nashville, Tennessee to rejoin Rosecrans_s Army of the Cumberland as it begins the Tullahome campaign against Bragg_s Confederates. Bennitt is promoted to regiment surgeon and is stationed in Murfreesboro. He reports on camp life, condition of patients, and local and national news. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 4 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1863-07-05T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.
- Notes:
- Correspondence from John Bennitt of Centreville, Michigan to his wife Charlotte, February 2, 1864 During this time, Bennitt reports on his position as Surgeon in Charge of the General Hospital and life in McMinnville, Tennessee. This group of letters is transcribed and footnoted in Chapter 6 of I Hope to Do My Country Service.
- Date Created:
- 1864-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- I Hope to Do My Country Service: the Civil War letters of John Bennitt, M.D., Surgeon, 19th Michigan Infantry, part of collection with diaries published by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2005.