YouyoungmenwhoarefollowingthehospitalshardlyknowhowmuchyouareindebtedtoLouis。IsaynothingofhisResearchesonPhthisisorhisgreatworkonTyphoidFever。ButIconsiderhismodestandbriefEssayonBleedinginsomeInflammatoryDiseases，basedoncasescarefullyobservedandnumericallyanalyzed，oneofthemostimportantwrittencontributionstopracticalmedicine，tothetreatmentofinternaldisease，ofthiscentury，ifnotsincethedaysofSydenham。Thelancetwasthemagician’swandofthedarkagesofmedicine。Theoldphysiciansnotonlybelievedinitsgeneralefficacyasawonder-workerindisease，buttheybelievedthateachmaladycouldbesuccessfullyattackedfromsomespecialpartofthebody，——thestrategicpointwhichcommandedtheseatofthemorbidaffection。OnafiguregiveninthecuriousoldworkofJohndeKetam，nolessthanthirty-eightseparateplacesaremarkedastheproperonestobleedfrom，indifferentdiseases。EvenLouis，whohadnotwhollygivenupvenesection，usednowandthentoorderthatapatientsufferingfromheadacheshouldbebledinthefoot，inpreferencetoanyotherpart。
ButwhatLouisdidwasthis：heshowedbyastrictanalysisofnumerouscasesthatbleedingdidnotstrangle，——jugulatewasthewordthenused，——acutediseases，moreespeciallypneumonia。Thiswasnotareform，——itwasarevolution。ItwasfollowedupinthiscountrybytheremarkableDiscourseofDr。JacobBigelowuponSelf-LimitedDiseases，whichhas，Ibelieve，donemorethananyotherworkoressayinourownlanguagetorescuethepracticeofmedicinefromtheslaverytothedruggingsystemwhichwasapartoftheinheritanceoftheprofession。
Yes，Isay，asIlookbackonthelonghoursofthemanydaysIspentinthewardsandintheautopsyroomofLaPitie，whereLouiswasoneoftheattendingphysicians，——yes，Louisdidagreatworkforpracticalmedicine。Modestinthepresenceofnature，fearlessinthefaceofauthority，unwearyinginthepursuitoftruth，hewasamanwhomanystudentmightbehappyandproudtoclaimashisteacherandhisfriend，andyet，asIlookbackonthedayswhenIfollowedhisteachings，IfeelthatIgavemyselfuptooexclusivelytohismethodsofthoughtandstudy。
Thereisonepartoftheirbusinesswhichcertainmedicalpractitionersaretooapttoforget；namely，thatwhattheyshouldmostofalltrytodoistowardoffdisease，toalleviatesuffering，topreservelife，oratleasttoprolongitifpossible。Itisnotoftheslightestinteresttothepatienttoknowwhetherthreeorthreeandaquartercubicinchesofhislungarehepatized。Hismindisnotoccupiedwiththinkingofthecuriousproblemswhicharetobesolvedbyhisownautopsy，——whetherthisorthatstrandofthespinalmarrowistheseatofthisorthatformofdegeneration。Hewantssomethingtorelievehispain，tomitigatetheanguishofdyspnea，tobringbackmotionandsensibilitytothedeadlimb，tostillthetorturesofneuralgia。Whatisittohimthatyoucanlocalizeandnamebysomeuncouthtermthediseasewhichyoucouldnotpreventandwhichyoucannotcure？Anoldwomanwhoknowshowtomakeapoulticeandhowtoputiton，anddoesittuto，eito，jucunde，justwhenandwhereitiswanted，isbetter，——athousandtimesbetterinmanycases，——thanastaringpathologist，whoexploresandthumpsanddoubtsandguesses，andtellshispatientbewillbebettertomorrow，andsogoeshometotumblehisbooksoverandmakeoutadiagnosis。
Butinthosedays，I，likemostofmyfellowstudents，wasthinkingmuchmoreof“science“thanofpracticalmedicine，andIbelieveifwehadnotclungsocloselytotheskirtsofLouisandhadfollowedsomeofthecoursesofmenlikeTrousseau，——therapeutists，whogavespecialattentiontocurativemethods，andnotchieflytodiagnosis，——itwouldhavebeenbetterformeandothers。Onething，atanyrate，wedidlearninthewardsofLouis。Welearnedthataverylargeproportionofdiseasesgetwellofthemselves，withoutanyspecialmedication，——thegreatfactformulated，enforced，andpopularizedbyDr。JacobBigelowintheDiscoursereferredto。Weunlearnedthehabitofdruggingforitsownsake。Thisdetestablepractice，whichIwasalmostproscribedforcondemningsomewhattooepigrammaticallyalittlemorethantwentyyearsago，cametous，I