Charles Delucena Meigs: Difference between revisions
Made clear opposing and advocating stances Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
→Biography: Corrected the text to demonstrate and cite the work which demonstrated Meigs was a strong advocate of cleanliness in the treatment of "childbed fever". This is one of his major accomplishments. Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
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He graduated in medicine at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1817. In 1818 he was awarded an honorary degree of M.D. from [[Princeton University]]. Meigs specialized in obstetrics and was for a long time the acknowledged leader in this branch of medicine. In 1841, he became professor of obstetrics and diseases of women in the [[Jefferson Medical College]], until his retirement in 1861.<ref name=Gen>[http://www.meigs.org/charles219.htm Dr. Charles Delucena Meigs (#219)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516193931/http://www.meigs.org/charles219.htm |date=May 16, 2008 }}. Meigs.org. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.</ref> |
He graduated in medicine at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1817. In 1818 he was awarded an honorary degree of M.D. from [[Princeton University]]. Meigs specialized in obstetrics and was for a long time the acknowledged leader in this branch of medicine. In 1841, he became professor of obstetrics and diseases of women in the [[Jefferson Medical College]], until his retirement in 1861.<ref name=Gen>[http://www.meigs.org/charles219.htm Dr. Charles Delucena Meigs (#219)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516193931/http://www.meigs.org/charles219.htm |date=May 16, 2008 }}. Meigs.org. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.</ref> |
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Meigs was a lifelong opponent of obstetric [[anesthesia]]. In 1856, he warned against the morally "doubtful nature of any process that the physicians set up to contravene the operations of those natural and physiological forces that the Divinity has ordained us to enjoy or to suffer".<ref>[http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/people/charlesdelucenameigs.html Charles Delucena Meigs ( 1792–1869 )]. General-anaesthesia.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.</ref> He |
Meigs was a lifelong opponent of obstetric [[anesthesia]]. In 1856, he warned against the morally "doubtful nature of any process that the physicians set up to contravene the operations of those natural and physiological forces that the Divinity has ordained us to enjoy or to suffer".<ref>[http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/people/charlesdelucenameigs.html Charles Delucena Meigs ( 1792–1869 )]. General-anaesthesia.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.</ref> |
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His work "On The Nature, Signs, and Treatment of Childbed Fevers" was dedicated to the proposition that women were at risk of disease in dirty environments. He looked at both sides of the idea that doctors could convey [[Puerperal fever|childbed fever]] (a disease) on their hands on the grounds and quoted Dr. D. Rutter that "Doctors are [[gentleman|gentlemen]] and a gentleman's hands are clean". <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yQ5KpZTs6iYC&pg=PA95]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 104.</ref> |
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He weighs "contagion" and "non-contagion" as causes. On the contagion side he is in great favor of "purifying the whole hospital". He cites Dr. Robert Collin's in 1829 as having used chorine gas in a ward, painting the floor and woodwork with chloride of lime mixed with water, and finishing with whitewashing the ward and scouring the blankets and heating them to 130 degrees. <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yQ5KpZTs6iYC&pg=PA90]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 99.</ref> |
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His feelings on the matter of contagion were distilled into "Is contagion a truth? Then, for heaven's sweet sake, I implore you not to lay your impoisoned hands upon her who is committed to your science and skill and charitable goodness, only for her safety and comfort, and not that you should, after collecting fees, soon return her to her friends a putrid corpse." <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yQ5KpZTs6iYC&pg=PA104]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 113.</ref> |
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He was active as a translator from French. His translation of [[Gobineau]]'s ''Typhaines Abbey'' was published in 1869.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdEtAAAAMAAJ |title=Typhaines abbey: a tale of the twelfth century |author=Count Arthur de Gobineau |translator= Charles D. Meigs |year=1869 |publisher=Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Until his death he corresponded with the book's author.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} |
He was active as a translator from French. His translation of [[Gobineau]]'s ''Typhaines Abbey'' was published in 1869.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GdEtAAAAMAAJ |title=Typhaines abbey: a tale of the twelfth century |author=Count Arthur de Gobineau |translator= Charles D. Meigs |year=1869 |publisher=Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Until his death he corresponded with the book's author.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} |
Revision as of 22:21, 10 February 2019
Charles Delucena Meigs | |
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Born | February 19, 1792 |
Died | June 22, 1869 Philadelphia, United States | (aged 77)
Known for | Obstetrics |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Jefferson Medical College |
Charles Delucena Meigs (February 19, 1792 – June 22, 1869) was an American obstetrician of the nineteenth century who is remembered for his opposition to obstetrical anesthesia and to advocating the idea that physicians' hands could transmit disease to their patients.
Biography
Meigs was born February 19, 1792, in St. George, Bermuda, the son of Josiah Meigs and Clara Benjamin Meigs.[1] He died June 22, 1869, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1817. In 1818 he was awarded an honorary degree of M.D. from Princeton University. Meigs specialized in obstetrics and was for a long time the acknowledged leader in this branch of medicine. In 1841, he became professor of obstetrics and diseases of women in the Jefferson Medical College, until his retirement in 1861.[1]
Meigs was a lifelong opponent of obstetric anesthesia. In 1856, he warned against the morally "doubtful nature of any process that the physicians set up to contravene the operations of those natural and physiological forces that the Divinity has ordained us to enjoy or to suffer".[2]
His work "On The Nature, Signs, and Treatment of Childbed Fevers" was dedicated to the proposition that women were at risk of disease in dirty environments. He looked at both sides of the idea that doctors could convey childbed fever (a disease) on their hands on the grounds and quoted Dr. D. Rutter that "Doctors are gentlemen and a gentleman's hands are clean". [3]
He weighs "contagion" and "non-contagion" as causes. On the contagion side he is in great favor of "purifying the whole hospital". He cites Dr. Robert Collin's in 1829 as having used chorine gas in a ward, painting the floor and woodwork with chloride of lime mixed with water, and finishing with whitewashing the ward and scouring the blankets and heating them to 130 degrees. [4]
His feelings on the matter of contagion were distilled into "Is contagion a truth? Then, for heaven's sweet sake, I implore you not to lay your impoisoned hands upon her who is committed to your science and skill and charitable goodness, only for her safety and comfort, and not that you should, after collecting fees, soon return her to her friends a putrid corpse." [5]
He was active as a translator from French. His translation of Gobineau's Typhaines Abbey was published in 1869.[6] Until his death he corresponded with the book's author.[citation needed]
A son, Montgomery C. Meigs (1816–1892), achieved distinction as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War.
Works
- Meigs, Charles Delucena (1854). On the Nature, Signs, and Treatment of Childbed Fevers: In a Series of Letters Addressed to the Students of His Class. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 362 pages.
- Meigs, Charles Delucena (1854). A Treatise on Acute and Chronic Diseases of the Neck of the Uterus. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 116 pages.
- Meigs, Charles Delucena (1st ed., 1849; 3rd ed., 1856; 4th ed., 1862; 5th ed., 1867). Treatise on Obstetrics: The Science and Art. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea.
{{cite book}}
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(help) 730 pages.
- Meigs, Charles Delucena (1848). Females and Their Diseases; A Series of Letters to His Class. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 276 pages.
Notes
- ^ a b Dr. Charles Delucena Meigs (#219) Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Meigs.org. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.
- ^ Charles Delucena Meigs ( 1792–1869 ). General-anaesthesia.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.
- ^ [1]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 104.
- ^ [2]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 99.
- ^ [3]."On the nature, signs, and treatment of childbed fevers" (1854), 113.
- ^ Count Arthur de Gobineau (1869). Typhaines abbey: a tale of the twelfth century. Translated by Charles D. Meigs. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger.
External links
Media related to Charles Delucena Meigs at Wikimedia Commons
- Works by Charles Delucena Meigs at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Charles Delucena Meigs at Internet Archive
- Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. .
- P M Dunn, Professor Charles D Meigs (1792–1869) of Philadelphia and persistent fetal circulation.[permanent dead link], Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1994; 70; F155-F156
- Meigs Family papers at Hagley Museum and Library