The journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
-
J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Sep 2011
Biography Historical ArticleThe use of lithotomy by missionary surgeons in nineteenth-century China.
Modern medicine in China owes its origins to Anglo-American medical missionaries who introduced Western medicine into China in the early nineteenth century. In 1835 the first medical missionary to China, the Reverend Dr Peter Parker, founded the Canton Ophthalmic Hospital where he pioneered lithotomy and other surgical operations for Chinese patients. This paper chronicles the subsequent development of surgery for bladder stones at that institution by Dr Parker, Dr John Kerr and their successors. Modifications of technique and improvisations by these dedicated practitioners under less-than-optimal conditions and in an unfamiliar population, provide a unique and interesting insight into medicine of the time as practiced in China.
-
J R Coll Physicians Edinb · Sep 2011
Biography Historical ArticleRobert Garrett, Tasmanian penal colony surgeon: alcoholism, medical misadventure and the penal colony of Sarah Island.
Robert Garrett emigrated from Scotland to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in 1822. Within a few months of arrival he was posted to the barbaric penal colony in Macquarie Harbour, known as Sarah Island. His descent into alcoholism, medical misadventure and premature death were related to his largely unsupported professional environment and were, in many respects, typical of those subjected to this experience.