Biomedical subjects

Alfredo de Micheli-Serra

Publications and source records attributed to Alfredo de Micheli-Serra.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

[200 years of the smallpox vaccine].

The expression "inoculation of smallpox" was first employed by Emanuele Timone, native of Chios island and graduated from the Universities of Padua and Oxford. He learned about this procedure in Constantinople. This method was introduced in North America, during the great epidemic outbreak of 1721, by two Bostonian citizens: Cotton Mather and Zabdiel Boylston. The French physician Henri Etienne Morel introduced the procedure into New Spain during the smallpox epidemic of 1779. Nevertheless only in 1798 the English physician Edward Jenner published the results of his observations and experience concerning the "vaccination" in his book "Inquiry into the cause and effects of the variolae vaccinae." After some initial oppositions, this method rapidly spreaded to the rest of Europe. It arrived to Spain in 1801 and thence was transferred to Spanish America and Philippine Islands with the expedition leaded by Francisco Xavier Balmis. Along the XIX century the methods for obtaining and keeping the vaccine were notably improved. Both Jenner and Balmis are worthy of remembrance as great humanity benefactors.

Europe↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Notes on ancient Islamic medicine].

Arab medicine arose as a consequence of the assimilation and breeding of Hellenistic medicine, particularly of Galenic medicine. It reached its high point between the X and XII centuries and, after the XIII century, lost all creative capabilities. Nevertheless, it achieved the status of being an incentive for European medieval medicine. Some aspects of the medical teaching and publications of the most distinguished Moslem physicians, such as Rhazes (865-932), Avicenna (980-1037), and Averroës (1126-1198) are described. The main characteristics of Moslem medical institutions such as guilds, hospitals, and organizations of professional practice also are discussed. Although Arab medicine essentially constituted a transmission vehicle of master ideas of ancient medical thought, this medicine awoke the interest and initiative of the medieval physicians of western Europe, for example, those at the medical school of Salerno.

Europe↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Physicians and surgeons during the inquisition in new Spain].

The origins of New Spain Inquisition whose jurisdiction extended also to Philippine Islands, are related herein. Physicians and surgeons who worked as Inquisition officers are discussed, from the first Dr. Juan de la Fuente who was appointed on May 9, 1572, to Dr. Pedro del Castillo, appointed on September 24, 1644. Likewise, physicians and surgeons judged by the Holy Office are mentioned. During the XVI century, those judged were few and insignificant personages, the first was the Irish Protestant William Corniels a barber surgeon, who arrived with the John Hawkins' pirate fleet in 1568 and settled in Guatemala. Some physicians and surgeons were judged as "Judaizers" during the first half of the XVII century. Many physicians and surgeons were prosecuted in Mexico, as well as in the Philippine Islands, in the second half of the XVIII century because they were Freemasons or supporters of French Revolution ideology. Among those was the unfortunate Dr. Enrique Esteban Morel, who introduced into Mexico the method of antivariolar inoculation at the time of the great epidemic out-break of 1779. It should be a gesture of justice to build a memorial in the ancient Inquisition Palace to honor this Public Health's worthy physician.

Barber Surgeons↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[On Academics and Academicians. Historical sketch].

First Academies originated in Italy at the beginnings of the Renaissance. Their works were of encyclopedic extent. Regarding to scientific academies, the first was the "Accademia dei Lincei" founded in Rome on August 17, 1603, due to the initiative of four young men; three naturalists and a physician. Later, several distiguished scientists were admitted, such as Giambattista della Porta, inventor of the dark chamber (1610) and Galileo Galilei (1611). This Academy sponsored the publication of a compendium of Francisco Hernández manuscripts, prepared by the Italian physician Antonio Nardo Recchi. Many years later, other scientific academies arose, such as the "Accademia del Cimento", established in 1657 in Florence and inspired by Galilean thought. In 1662, the "Royal Society" of London, was formally recognized, following Bacon's empirical line, and in 1666 the "Académie Royale des Sciences" was created in Paris, which followed the mechanicist orientation of Descartes. These scientific societies aspired to become centers of information and exchange ideas. Therefore, the "Philosophical Transactions" in London and the "Journal des Savants" in Paris began to be published in 1665. Both publications often included medical articles and notes. Regarding New Spain, the worthy "Academia médico-quirúrgica" of Puebla, mentioned since 1802, must be considered. In independent Mexico, two successive medical academies were established that paved the way for our National Academy of Medicine (1864). This society, since its birth, has been publishing the "Gaceta Médica de México", dean of the Mexican medical journals.

Academies and Institutes↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[On the origins of modern science].

The Renaissance savants essentially repelled the scholastic translations and commentaries of the ancient writings. Nevertheless, they did not reach a modern vision of experimental science. Moreover, education at the universities was not credited for the development of science. In fact, academic training of students was rather precarious. The first professional associations, such as the "Royal College of Physicians" of London, were not any better. Regarding the hermetic influence on Renaissance thought, the cultured and philosophical reformed magic (so-called white magic) was the equivalent of science at the time. Once the animistic universe, operated by magic, was transformed into the mathematical universe operated by mechanics, the era of science came into being. This movement began during the post-Renaissance age and gradually progressed following the physical-mathematical orientation of Galileo and his pupils: Borelli; Fabrizi; Santorio; Harvey, etc. They initiated physiological studies and introduced the quantitative method into the research field. Harvey's doctrine was the first adequate explanation of an organic phenomenon and a starting point for the way toward experimental physiology. However, the English physician did not completely leave the pre-scientific era, as can be inferred from his monography on animals reproduction. In this work, some points suggesting the birth of modern scientific reasoning alternate with confused, vague, and capricious assertions. In fact, modern science did not arise suddenly, but was elaborated and sustained slowly starting in the XVII century: Galileo's century.

History, 16th Century↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Professional ethics of physicians].

Socrates is considered the great classic moralist, although he was not the first to take care of man and morality. Aristotle instituted ethics as an autonomous science and clearly defined its fields, its methods and its purposes, formulating the concept of "happy medium". In the Aristotelian methodology we find traces of Hippocrates, who believed that the physician must always consider the peculiar aspects and that the individual characteristics' determinations can be reached by sensitivity. Once these particularities have been proved, the physician must rely on the "happy medium". Only Stoics could discover, and gradually elaborate, the concept of natural law. Apparently they were the first to establish the classic distinction between the theorical or ideal morality and the practical morality, which is accessible to all people. They refused to compare wisdom, entirely turned inward, with the medical art, which does not constitute an aim by itself. Modern authors assert that, with stoicism, the notion we can denominated wisdom's humanism rised. Today it is admitted that "medicine is more than simply learning medical data.... Physicians must have a wisdom learned from human finitude. They will need this wisdom to tackle the health care policy debates in the next decades". This would be a major cultural undertaking.

Ethics, Medical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[On the epistemological approaches to medicine].

The doctrine of correct reasoning was developed in the Western World as logic. This is an activity of the intellect that apparently began with Zeno of Elea, being formalized by Aristotle, and which received its name from the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus. It corresponds to the structure or anatomy of thought. Logic empiricism introduced systematic use of the logistic language into epistemology. The latter discipline designates the philosophy of science, i.e., the critical foundation of its principles, hypotheses, methods, and results. Strictly speaking, it does not constitute an analysis of the scientific method, which is rather the object of methodology, nor anticipation or synthesis of scientific results. It can be considered that, concerning science, epistemology constitutes the second step with a primary activity. In other words, it is a reflection on science, considering the latter as an element to be respected and not as a domain to be ruled. Dr. Hermann Boerhaave was the first physician to challenge problems of an epistemologic character in a coherent and systematic manner (XVIII Century). Others followed him in this direction during the subsequent centuries. In the light of Popper's critical rationalism, construction of a medical instrument, conception of a therapeutic procedure, development of a useful model in biology or medicine could also be considered as epistemologic problems. The corresponding examples that follow are worthwhile mentioning: Riva-Rocci's sphygmomanometer; metabolic therapeutics for ischemic heart disease, and elaboration of theoretical models. In turn, epistemology suggests that assessment of a fact, perceivable by the senses, is generally more difficult that elaboration of a hypothesis.

History, 17th Century↗