Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1233

WILLIAM POTTS DEWEES (1768-1841) An essay on the means of lessening pain, and facilitating certain cases of difficult parturition. Thomas Dobson and Son 1819 2nd ed. viii [9]-156 pp. 22.9 cm.

Dewees had already established himself as an outstanding obstetrician by the time he received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1806, where he later became one of the first professors of midwifery. The present work, first published in 1806, was presented as Dewees dissertation for the M.D. degree. In the Preface he comments that "The greater part of the following pages were an Inaugural Dissertation; the principles and practice contained in them, were the result of seventeen years extensive business and careful observation; the experience of twelve years since, has but confirmed them" (p. [vii]). Dewees does not discuss any changes in the skeletal structure of the pelvis which may cause difficult labor, but limits himself to the pathology of the soft parts such as the uterus, vagina, ligaments, and muscles. The uses of these parts, the role they play in both normal and abnormal parturition, and natural methods to promote a more normal delivery are discussed. In some instances Dewees resorted to the use of ergot and also advocated bloodletting. Twenty-three case histories provide the author with information to support what are obviously rational arguments.

Cited references: Austin 664; Waller 2429