Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1204

JOSEPH CONSTANTINE CARPUE (1764-1846) An introduction to electricity and galvanism. Sold by A. Phillips; Longman and Rees; Cadell and Davies 1803 viii, 112 pp., 3 fold. plates. 20.7 cm.

Carpue, a distinguished English surgeon, began his surgical studies at St. George's Hospital in London in 1796 after being educated in France and traveling widely in Europe, Scotland, and Wales. He was appointed to the surgical staff of the Duke of York's Hospital in Chelsea in 1799 and a year later began teaching anatomy. He achieved a substantial reputation as a teacher and surgeon and is perhaps best remembered for his An account of two successful operations for restoring a lost nose from the integuments of the forehead (London, 1816). Carpue was among the early users of electrotherapy and this book is fascinating reading as it reveals the hopes that all physicians have for the promise of new therapeutic modalities. Carpue was not easily deterred and he describes successful healings as well as case after case where the use of electrotherapy had no healing effect on the patient whatsoever. He used Galvanism to treat arthritis, fractures, venereal disease, amenorrhea, cataract, deafness, blindness, tumors, and many other diseases. Carpue also includes a discussion of the theory of electricity, many experiments with galvanism, and descriptions of various types of apparatus for producing electricity.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 1989; Wellcome II, p. 304

Gift of John Martin, M.D.