On Arsenic Poisoning, Its Remedy and Judicial Detection

Hahnemann, Samuel, 1755-1843Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.3
Word count
394K words
Chapters
40

Tags

Foreign Language Books Medicine Medical HistoryMedical ClassicForensic ScienceToxicologyForensic MedicineArsenic PoisoningDrug AnalysisAcademic MonographExperimental MethodEighteenth Century

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Ueber die Arsenikvergiftung ihre Hülfe und gerichtliche Ausmittelung by HahnemannAuthor: Hahnemann, Samuel, 1755-1843,Language: German, Class: RC: Medicine: Internal medicine, Release Date: Sep 16, 2014

Editor's review

This German medical document is Hahnemann’s early monograph on arsenic poisoning, its treatment, and methods of forensic determination; it is a primary source for the history of medicine and the history of toxicology. Its value lies not in offering modern clinical guidelines but in showing how European physicians of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries understood the action of poisons, designed antidotal regimens, and argued the fact of poisoning in court. It is a precious text for understanding the formation of modern forensic medicine and toxicology. The modes of reasoning, investigative approaches, and period limitations presented in the book also have methodological value for reflection for today’s readers. The book is better read as historical source material than as a practical manual; it is advisable to read with a question-driven awareness, attending to how the author defines symptoms, distinguishes natural disease from poisoning, and builds a chain of evidence. Because the original is in German and written in a historical style, non-specialist readers will need some patience.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the introduction or table of contents first to outline the book’s two parts: treatment and forensic determination.
  2. Read alongside materials on the history of modern toxicology, marking differences between the book’s investigative methods and later developments.
  3. Record historical medical terms as you encounter them and check them later in a focused way, so as not to lose overall comprehension by stopping at every word.
  4. Excerpt the book’s discussion of the chain of evidence as material for notes on a special topic in the history of forensic medicine.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40

FAQ

Is this book suitable for guiding the treatment of arsenic poisoning today? No. It is a historical document reflecting the medical understanding and therapeutic means of the author’s time, and it differs markedly from modern clinical toxicology. Today’s diagnosis and treatment should follow current medical guidelines. The value of reading this book lies in understanding the history of medicine and the history of forensic medicine, not in obtaining actionable medical advice.
What level of German is needed to read this book? The original is in German and its style has features of early modern academic writing; upper-intermediate or advanced German reading ability is recommended, or use a bilingual edition or annotated version. If your German is limited, you can first read English or Chinese research works on the history of medicine to gain background before approaching the original, thereby reducing the difficulty.
What is the significance of reading this book in the history of medicine? It shows how early modern physicians systematically discussed the identification, treatment, and forensic determination of poisoning, and it is a window onto the formation of forensic medicine and toxicology. Readers can see the period features of symptom description, investigative approaches, and evidentiary argument, and thereby understand how modern disciplinary norms were gradually established.

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About the author

Hahnemann, Samuel, 1755-1843 Author · German · 1755–1843

Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843) was a German physician and the founder of homeopathy, whose medical ideas had a profound influence on the history of modern medicine. One work by him is held in this collection, Ueber die Arsenikvergiftung ihre Hülfe und gerichtliche Ausmittelung, which deals with aid in and forensic determination of arsenic poisoning and reflects his concern with diagnosis, treatment, and judicial assessment in cases of poisoning. Publicly available information on the details of his life is limited, so no speculation is offered here. The work shows a practical orientation toward medicine and forensic practice, combining clinical management with investigative judgment in clear language intended for physicians and legal practitioners. His doctrines later spread across Europe and beyond, gaining followers while also provoking lasting controversy, and remain an important subject in the history of medicine and in research on alternative medicine.