Physiological Therapeutics Versus Drugs in the Treatment of Diseases
of Infancy and Childhood [excerpt]

     When contemplating our dependence upon nature for adjustment of difference between pathology and physiology, many cases present themselves to our mind. One which was the center of [92][93] attraction to the entire medical world a few years ago—that of the late President McKinley—may be referred to. The despatch [sic] with which the operation was done, its technique, the subsequent care and treatment of the patient, reflect, in the light of a critical post-mortem examination, credit upon the surgeons connected with the case. Their splendid efforts deserved better success. The prognosis, you will remember, was most optimistic, especially by the leading counsel, the great and beloved McBurney. Their inability to crown their labor with success lay in the fact that the “organism,” “the most active agent,” had been paralyzed from the start, beyond the skill of human hands to vitalize.