Medical Care and the General Practitioner 1750-1850 [Hardcover]

Unlike most histories of the medical profession between 1750 and 1850, which focus on a small handful of famous doctors and their discoveries, this book concentrates on the neglected but far larger group of rank and file practitioners: the surgeon-apothecaries of the late 18th century and the general practitioners of the early 19th century. Delving into an array of manuscript sources, Loudon examines their social and economic status, their background and training, their scientific methods and medical challenges, and their patients and pay-scales. He demonstrates that they actually faced unparalleled intraprofessional rivalry in an overcrowded profession during these years -- the effects of which are still seen in the structure of Britain's medical establishment today.

PART I: The Predecessors of the General Practitioners .750-1810
1. Practitioners, Regular and Irregular
2. Background and Education
3. Physic and Pharmacy
4. Surgery and Obstetrics
5. The Eighteenth-Century Practitioner: His Income and Practice
PART II: Medical Reform and the Creation of the General Practitioner 1794-1850
6. The Rise of the Druggist and Medical Reform
7. The Association of Apothecaries and Surgeon-Apothecaries and the Apothecaries Act of 1815
8. The Consequences of the Apothecaries Act
9. The Status of the General Practitioner
10. The Number of Medical Practitioners, Their Qualifications and Appointments
11. Practice and Income: The Poor Law Medical Services
12. Practice and Income: Private Practice and Other Sources; Total Income
13. The General Practitioner as Family Doctor; Medical Societies and Associations
14. Postscript: The Medical Act of 1858

Goes beyond existing monographs on the topic and should occupy a major niche in the history of medicine. It is meticulously researched and documented....Strongly recommended for libraries having collections in British history or the history of melã”