Dr. Cullen's Practice of Physics
Practice of Physics by Dr. Cullen
Collection area: History of Science
Collection dates: 1771
One volume of handwritten lecture notes dated October 30, 1771, addressed to medical students: the introductory sentence reads, "Gentlemen, I come here to deliver a course of Lectures on the Practice of Physic upon that part of our studies for which all the others are intended..." The entire text is written in one clear hand. The basic framework is a description of each disease and its symptoms, apparently a recounting of Cullen's earlier published work on the subject, Methodical Nosology, 1769. Following each description is a discussion of the medical treatment for that disease. Interspersed throughout are observations of specific patients, reports and opinions of colleagues, and Cullen's conclusions regarding etiology.
One prominent recurring watermark depicts a figure holding a staff, with "Pro Patria" as the banner, beside a lion.
Pages 236-238 are blank, and the following leaf is missing, as is the cover.
Scottish physician and professor of medicine and chemistry at the universities in Glasgow and Edinburgh; regarded as the father of graphic chain formulas.
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