Diseases in the District of Maine 1772 - 1820

Foreword by John Harley Warner Introduction: Chapter 1. Jeremiah Barker: Background, Education, and Writings Who was Jeremiah Barker? Provenance of the Barker Manuscript Description of the Barker Manuscript The Medical Geography of the District of Maine, 1760-1830 Barker's Contribution to the Medical Literature of Northern New England Articles Published by Jeremiah Barker Yellow Fever in the District of Maine? Conclusion Chapter 2. Obtaining and Sharing Medical Literature, 1780-1820 Medical Information by Mail The First United States Medical Journals & Medical Nationalism Problems Encountered by Early Medical Journals Newspapers as a Source of Medical Information And Last but Not Least, Books Conclusion Chapter 3. The Old Medicine and the New: why Barker wrote this manuscript, for whom was it written, and why was it not published? The Importance of Observation and Recording Basics of Greek Medicine and Fever Bloodletting: The Blood Was "Sizy and Buffy" "Scientific Doctors" and the "Empirics" More Competition: Domestic and Sectarian Medicine Science, Institutions, Education, Framing Disease, and Cultural Authority Case Reports and the Clinical Exam circa 1800 Recording Cases, Observations, and the Numerical Method "Thus Sayeth Galen" Meets Cullen, Rush, and Brown "Intelligible to Those Who Are Destitute of Medical Science" Why Was Barker's Manuscript Never Published? Rapidly Changing Medical Theory and Philosophy: Noah Webster Conclusion Chapter 4. "Alkaline Doctor" and "A Dangerous Innovator" Lavoisier and the New Chemistry The Acid/Alkali Debates of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Barker, Mitchill, Septon, and the Medical Repository Barker's Use of Alkaline Therapy Chemistry, Yellow Fever, and the Contagionist/Anticontagionist Battle Barker the "Dangerous Innovator" Conclusion Chapter 5. Thoughts to Consider While Reading Barker's Manuscript Presentism, Whiggish History, the Post Hoc Fallacy, Confirmation Bias Holistic and Biomedical Models Numerical Methods and Retrospective Diagnosis Barker's Treatments, Therapeutic Efficacy, Bacon, and Confirmation Bias Nature vs. Art in Medicine-Best Available Evidence and the Burden of Disease Conclusion The Jeremiah Barker Manuscript Volume One MS V. 1, Chapter 1. Insanity and Temperance Mental illness and problems associated with the use of ardent spirits MS V. 1, Chapter 2. Early Maine Medical History Beginning in 1735 1780 Barker moves from Barnstable, Massachusetts to Gorham, District of Maine Introduces his new community and physicians practicing in southern Maine Introduces Rev. Thos. Smith's diary documenting diseases and epidemics, 1735-1780 1735 N.E. epidemic of cynache maligna, putrid sore throat, as described by Smith Excerpt of Dr. John Warren's 1813 article on cynache maligna or throat distemper Barker discusses illnesses of the 1740s including quinsy MS V. 1, Chapter 3. Deaths Following Trivial Wounds and Childbed Fever Barker's initial years in the District of Maine beginning 1780 1784-1785 unusual epidemic of serious wounds and death in men 1784-1785 unusual epidemic of childbed fever and deaths of women Discussion focusing on women with childbed fever, deaths, autopsies, searching the literature and contacting medical peers for suggestions Excerpt remarks on puerperal fever By Dr. Channing, 1817 Excerpt Dr. William DeWees on puerperal fever 1807 MS V. 1, Chapter 4. Throat distemper, Ulcerous Sore Throat, Scarlatina Angiosa, Cynache Maligna 1784: experience with throat distemper, other New England physicians and the literature Excerpt on putrid sore throat by Hall Jackson (Portsmouth, New Hampshire), 1786 Joshua Fisher on throat distemper or scarlatina angiosa MS V. 1, Chapter 5. Scarlatina Angiosa, Inflammatory Fevers, Hooping [Whooping] Cough, and Croup in Maine, 1797-1806 1796-1798 Scarlatina angiosa and the use of bloodletting and blistering 1802-1807 Scarlatina angiosa with many comments by other physicians 1805 example: 17 yo woman with Scarlatina angiosa bled, blistered, treated with alkalis 1774-1780 Barker's experience in Barnstable with quincy of croup, "a kindred disease" 1795-1806 "hooping cough" MS V. 1, Chapter 6. Bloodletting for Palsy, Hemiplegia, and Other Neurological Events Pneumonia in a minister who used his lancet on his parishioners prophylactically Use of bloodletting in disease, prophylactically, and by native Americans Excerpt on bloodletting among native Americans in "Travels in Canada and the Indian territories, between the years of 1760 and 1776." Alexander Henry, 1809 Hemiplegia and apoplexy Excerpt of "Observations on paraplegia in adults" by Matthew Baillie, 1820 Excerpt of "Cases of Apoplexy with Dissection," by John C. Warren, 1812 MS V. 1, Chapter 7. Hydrophobia Hydrophobia, cases and review of literature Value of volatile alkalis to treat three people bitten by mad dogs MS V. 1, Chapter 8. Anasarca, Ascites, Dropsy, and Foxglove 1786 move from Gorham to Stroudwater section of Portland Cancer Anasarca, ascites, hydrocephalus MS V. 1, Chapter 9. Epidemic of Influenza, Cancer, and Tainted Veal Influenza or Epidemic Catarrh Reference to Noah Webster's History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases, 1799 Regarding Thomas Smith's and Barker's cases Use of alkali after Barker's experiments Barker communicated his ideas on the nature of fever, together with some practical observations on the use of alkalis in fever in 1795, to Mr. William Payne, Secretary of the Humane Society in New York, who gave the letter to Dr. Samuel Mitchill at Columbia College. MS V. 1, Chapter 10. Letter to Samuel L. Mitchill in New York, May 30th 1798 The first page of a letter to Dr. Samuel Mitchill, subsequently published in the Medical Repository 1799, Vol. II No. II, pp. 147-152: "On the febrifuge Virtues of Lime, Magnesia and Alkaline Salts in Dysentery, Yellow-fever and Scarlatina Anginosa. In a Letter from Dr. Jeremiah Barker, of Portland, (Maine) dated May 30, 1798." The Jeremiah Barker Manuscript Volume Two MS V. 2, Introduction Chapter opens with a letter dated 20 December 1831: Dr. Samuel Emerson, Kennebunk, Maine, having reviewed Barker's manuscript, recommends that it be printed Barker's Introduction to Consumption MS V. 2, Chapter 1. Frequency of Consumption in Women in Recent Years in New England General comments on consumption; anatomy of respiration MS V. 2, Chapter 2. Tracheal Consumption General comments on tracheal consumption MS V. 2, Chapter 3. Phthisis Pulmonalis, or Pulmonary Consumption General comments on phthisis pulmonale, or pulmonary consumption MS V. 2, Chapter 4. Consumption and the Deaths of Barker's Wives; Pneumonia Cases of consumption beginning during Barker's pupilage 1775 Marries Abigail Gorham, age 25 with a history of chronic catarrh, hemoptysis; dies in 1790 after gradually increasing illness 1780 Lucy Garrett of Barnstable, chronic cough with blood, dies 1787 Discusses Ezekiel and Abner Hersey, their treatments and their illnesses 1790 marries Susanna Garrett, age 21 with chronic cough, dies of consumption 1793 1798 marries Miss Eunice Riggs, of Falmouth, age 25, cough with blood, dies 1799 1799 Barker claims he had been "infected with the Brunonian doctrine" but now embraces Rush, bleeding, and salivation MS V. 2, Chapter 5. Various Treatments for Phthisis Pulmonalis (Consumption) The efficacy of cooperative means such as emetics, cathartics, alkali, digitalis, epispastics, issues, diet, air, and exercise MS V. 2, Chapter 6. The Most Extraordinary Cases of Pulmonary Affections Cases of pulmonary afflictions cared for by Barker in Maine Benjamin Rush and his treatments MS V. 2, Chapter 7. Brownism to Rushism or Alcohol to Blooding; Empyema Excerpt from Dr. Young (1815). A practical and historical treatise on consumptive diseases, deduced from original observations, collected from authors of all ages. Historical aspects of consumption MS V. 2, Chapter 8. Cases of Phthisis Pulmonalis and Excerpts from Journals Barker was requested to extract some of the most extraordinary cases of consumption from various medical sources, such as the Medical Repository, the Medical Museum, the New England Journal of Medicine, the London Medical Journal, etc. not conveniently purchased or obtained by young physicians MS V. 2, Chapter 9. Pulmonary Affections Removed by the Intervention of Some Other Diseases, also by Powerful Means, and Manual Operation [Surgery] Pulmonary afflictions removed by surgical intervention; several more of Barker's cases Epilogue