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The Resource Frontier doctor : William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist, Reginald Horsman

Frontier doctor : William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist, Reginald Horsman

Creator
Contributor
Summary
"In Frontier Doctor, Reginald Horsman provides the first modern, scholarly biography of a colorful backwoods doctor whose pioneering research on human digestion gained him international renown as a physiologist. Before William Beaumont's work, there was still considerable controversy as to the nature of human digestion; his research established beyond a doubt that digestion is a chemical process. Beaumont received his medical training as an apprentice in a small town in Vermont and served as a surgeon's mate in the War of 1812. After the war, he practiced in Plattsburgh, New York, before making his career as an army surgeon. His chance for fame came in 1822, when he was serving at the lonely post of Fort Mackinac in Michigan Territory. A Canadian voyageur--Alexis St. Martin--was accidentally shot in the stomach at close range, and his wound healed in such a way as to leave a permanent opening. This enabled Beaumont to insert food directly into the stomach, to siphon gastric juice, and to experiment on the process of digestion both inside and outside the stomach. Because Beaumont had considerable difficulty in persuading St. Martin to stay with him so he could continue his research, his study was carried out sporadically over a number of years. In the early 1830s, with the support of Joseph Lovell, the surgeon general of the army, Beaumont and St. Martin went to the East Coast, where additional experiments were carried out. In 1833, Beaumont published Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion, a book based upon his research on St. Martin and the work upon which his reputation primarily rests. His observations revealed more about digestion in the human stomach than had ever before been known, and his work was immediately praised in both the United States and Europe. After he left the army, Beaumont established a successful private practice in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent the latter part of his life. Beaumont, a fascinating, argumentative character, was often engaged in public controversy. He was also good friends with several notable men, including the young Robert E. Lee. Frontier Doctor sheds welcome new light on the state of medicine both inside and outside the army in the early nineteenth century and provides absorbing information on the early experiments that set the research into human digestion irrevocably on the right course"--Publishers website
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xiii, 320 pages
Contents
  • Apprentice years
  • Surgeon at war
  • A Plattsburgh practice
  • Mackinac and Alex St. Martin
  • The problems of research
  • Hope revived
  • Success in the East
  • Experiments and observations
  • St. Louis
  • The end of an Army career
  • Private practice and controversy
  • The last years
Isbn
9780826210524
Instance
Label
Frontier doctor : William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist
Title
Frontier doctor
Title remainder
William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist
Statement of responsibility
Reginald Horsman
Title variation
William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"In Frontier Doctor, Reginald Horsman provides the first modern, scholarly biography of a colorful backwoods doctor whose pioneering research on human digestion gained him international renown as a physiologist. Before William Beaumont's work, there was still considerable controversy as to the nature of human digestion; his research established beyond a doubt that digestion is a chemical process. Beaumont received his medical training as an apprentice in a small town in Vermont and served as a surgeon's mate in the War of 1812. After the war, he practiced in Plattsburgh, New York, before making his career as an army surgeon. His chance for fame came in 1822, when he was serving at the lonely post of Fort Mackinac in Michigan Territory. A Canadian voyageur--Alexis St. Martin--was accidentally shot in the stomach at close range, and his wound healed in such a way as to leave a permanent opening. This enabled Beaumont to insert food directly into the stomach, to siphon gastric juice, and to experiment on the process of digestion both inside and outside the stomach. Because Beaumont had considerable difficulty in persuading St. Martin to stay with him so he could continue his research, his study was carried out sporadically over a number of years. In the early 1830s, with the support of Joseph Lovell, the surgeon general of the army, Beaumont and St. Martin went to the East Coast, where additional experiments were carried out. In 1833, Beaumont published Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion, a book based upon his research on St. Martin and the work upon which his reputation primarily rests. His observations revealed more about digestion in the human stomach than had ever before been known, and his work was immediately praised in both the United States and Europe. After he left the army, Beaumont established a successful private practice in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent the latter part of his life. Beaumont, a fascinating, argumentative character, was often engaged in public controversy. He was also good friends with several notable men, including the young Robert E. Lee. Frontier Doctor sheds welcome new light on the state of medicine both inside and outside the army in the early nineteenth century and provides absorbing information on the early experiments that set the research into human digestion irrevocably on the right course"--Publishers website
Member of
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DNLM/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Horsman, Reginald
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
RD27.35.B42
LC item number
H67 1996
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
NLM call number
WZ 100
NLM item number
B379H 1996
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
University of Missouri Press
Series statement
Missouri biography series
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Beaumont, William
  • Surgeons
  • Physiologists
  • Missouri
  • Beaumont, William
  • Physicians
  • Beaumont, William
  • Beaumont, William
  • Chirurgiens
  • Physiologistes
  • Biographie
Label
Frontier doctor : William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist, Reginald Horsman
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-312) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Apprentice years -- Surgeon at war -- A Plattsburgh practice -- Mackinac and Alex St. Martin -- The problems of research -- Hope revived -- Success in the East -- Experiments and observations -- St. Louis -- The end of an Army career -- Private practice and controversy -- The last years
Control code
33821119
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xiii, 320 pages
Isbn
9780826210524
Isbn Type
(alk. paper)
Lccn
95049849
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)33821119
Label
Frontier doctor : William Beaumont, America's first great medical scientist, Reginald Horsman
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-312) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Apprentice years -- Surgeon at war -- A Plattsburgh practice -- Mackinac and Alex St. Martin -- The problems of research -- Hope revived -- Success in the East -- Experiments and observations -- St. Louis -- The end of an Army career -- Private practice and controversy -- The last years
Control code
33821119
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xiii, 320 pages
Isbn
9780826210524
Isbn Type
(alk. paper)
Lccn
95049849
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)33821119

Subject

Genre

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