Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1916

JOHN CALL DALTON (1825-1889) A treatise on human physiology. Blanchard and Lea 1859 xxiv [17]-608 80 pp., 254 illus. 23.3 cm.

During his medical education at Harvard, Dalton was one of the students who witnessed the successful administration of ether by Morton (see No. 1873) in the fall of 1846. Soon after his graduation in 1847, he went to Paris where he studied for a time under Bernard (see No. 1792 ff.) and learned the principles of experimental medicine. In 1851 Dalton demonstrated his ability as a physiologist when he won an essay competition sponsored by the American Medical Association. As a result, he was invited to occupy the United States' first chair of physiology at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He remained at Buffalo until 1853, taught for two years at the Vermont Medical College and in 1855 was appointed professor of physiology and microscopic anatomy at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. During his tenure at the College of Physicians and Surgeons he also taught physiology at the Long Island College Hospital and served as a brigade surgeon during the Civil War. He retained his professorial chair until 1883 when he retired from active teaching to become president of the college. Dalton wrote this work, the first major American text on physiology which became a standard text in medical schools and went through seven editions, the last in 1882. Dalton relied heavily on animal experimentation and the conclusions presented throughout the book reflect a thorough analysis of his experimental results. He was a champion of the legal use of animals in the laboratory and helped resist the efforts of antivivisectionists to legislate against their use.

See Related Record(s): 1873 1792

Gift of John Martin, M.D.