Drexel University College of Medicine - Medic Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Samuel Hahnemann 1755-1 843 Samuel Christian Friedrich Hahnemann, in 1790, while trans- lating Cullen's Materia Medica, attempted to verify the action of cinchona bark by trying it on himself: the drug produced exactly the same symptoms of intermittent fever for which it was prescribed. Hahnemann spent the following years of his life experimenting with the action of drugs on healthy human beings and applying his findings to certain of the sick. Day by day in his medical practice, he became more and more con- vinced that he was on the verge of a new therapeutic law. Born in 1755 in Meissen, Germany, Hahnemann had received his medical education at Leipsic and Erlangen: even in his student days, he was dissatisfied with the doctrine of his pro- fessors. His early experiences in medical practice confirmed his mistrust in the prevailing methods of treatment based on the assumption that disease was a force which must be op- posed by an equal or even greater force. Copious blood let- ting, violent purging, induced vomitting, laborious prescrip- tions with a dozen or more ingredients, and corporeal punish- ment of the insane were all common practices. In 1810, after years of testing for the definitive action of drugs, Hahnemann published the ORGANON, in which he termed his new method of treating disease-Homeopathy, fol- lowing the fundamental law: SimiIia similibus curentur. He proposed that the body has naturally endowed powers of combatting disease and that the objective of treatment should be to stimulate these natural mechanisms. He inveighed against assaulting an already depleted organism and pre- scribed instead single remedies in small doses, carefully se- lected after painstaking inventory of the patient's symptoms and physical findings. Hahnemann enjoyed the reputation of being one of the fore- most scholars and physicians in all of Germany. Despite great opposition to his revolutionary theory, he was able to obtain a license to teach medicine at the University of Leipsic. There soon gathered about him a circle of enthusiasts, and Home- opathy became a distinct and separate discipline of medicine.

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,-.......l1.- 1 1. -WK- 4 I 1.0. I. Hahnemann Hospital 2. Bobst Building 3. Medical College Building 4. Klahr Building 5. Nurses' Residence and Class- room Building 6. Ambulatory Patient Services 7. Addition to the Hospital HAHN EM HERITAGE

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History of Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital The introduction of homeopathy to the United States occurred in 1825 when Dr. Hans Burch Gram settled in New York City. The first dose of homeopathic medication to be prescribed in Pennsylvania was administered on July 24, 1828 by Dr. Henry Detwiller of Hellertowng a baffling case of retarded menstrua- tion with severe colic was effectively treated by Pulsatilla. ln 1829, an epidemic of dysentery was controlled so success- fully by the new system, that many allopathic physicians in the ynhl pluy , T W1 - counties of Lehigh and Northampton began to embrace homeopathy wholeheartedly. 5 'f f' 'if ' 1,-1,14-V. E EE On April 10, 1825, the North American Academy of the Homeo- ,F 't ' , mr pathic Healing Art was founded in Allentown. The faculty con- 5 2 E53 ,lllajfftal sisted of Drs. Hering, Fiomig, Proeses, Wesselhoeft, Detwiller, - , I, , ,I U ilfl,Qi55ggj,, Freytag, and Pulte. The course of instruction extended from j gll1.,j,j , November to August. The following subjects were taught: ,gg ,l I physical examination, semeiotics, pharmacodynamics, thera- M M j'j ,iWj jglliljjfii- peutics, botany, pathology, physiology, anatomy, zoology, sur- m,iqgQ,.ig A-M5111 -T'ri, ,lll,f,l,lgfft- W, gery, midwifery, diseases of women and children, medical if jurisprudence, phytology, physics, mineralogy, chemistry, ge- . W L., lil Ology, astronomy, mathematics, and the history of medicine. .:4j.-ff , . . j Candidates for diplomas were required to pass a Colloquium, i i to present a Curriculum Vitae, and to write a dissertation on 'ftf' L1-T-31-41 -141 +4 some medical subject. The academy, however, was short- lived, the main problem was giving medical instruction en-' ':gg'EOpATH'C MED'CAL CO'-'-EGE OF PENNSY'-VAN'A tirely in the German language, and the lack of funds proved an insurmountable obstacle. Early in February 1848, Drs. Constantine Hering, Jacob Jeanes, and Walter Williamson met and decided to apply to the Pennsylvania Legislature, then in session, for a medical school charter. It was the desire of these men to found a medical school where students who desired to learn the practice of homeopathy might acquire such knowledge system- atically, and not as had been the custom, by serving a haphazard apprenticeship. The charter was granted, and on April 8, 1848, the Homeopathic College of Pennsylvania was incorporated. I A building was leased at 229 Arch Street, a faculty of nine professors appointed, and on Monday evening, October 16, 1848, the opening session of the old college was held. The first year found fifteen students paying the S100 course fee, the S10 anatomy fee, and the S15 graduation fee to attend classes. The year terminated with commencement exercises in Music Fund Hall, at which six doctors were graduated. The success of the first session demonstrated that more adequate facilities would be necessary if the school were to prosper and grow. During the summer of 1849, a search was made for larger quarters. The opening lectures of the second session were held in the building formerly occupied by the Pennsylvania College of Medicine on Filbert Street between 11th and 12th Streets. Additions were made to the faculty, and at the second commencement, twenty students were graduated. From the inception of the college, a dispensary for the practical instruction of students had been an integral part. In 1850, the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County granted a charter to the Homeopathic Hospital of Pennsylvania, which was erected on 554' :I-'HT -,E i I 4, , ' Qakih- Q-711.-X M, . ' -- ff' 3 -' f 'X 'hgztm t A -1 ff' T 5 f , E- ?iisTL59 2' 'l ll 1 '-' g,.,f'- J A - V - T! F 1' n. 1 -. 1 A llc x f- -.:- - - mia! . 1 ii. jn- I' ' 5: ! Q il 'lj 'FI' 1 a ,-m....f'gg- 2.-Q '-ii see- l in ll 1 .4 j-j - -5 5 - Q l' : 1 i illzllli f 1' -N f 1 'i -1 ,IE I lfl-4,ti'te.i4iff.15 - if l ' we all 33 ,5 iils2llail..:llfillifi ' , 1 l I . V . I, N Ml,-. ' Ili -Wfi . 1.1, - if-jf 2.-. . - - ,vi ,ii il 1,-1- gjjjrj .im 51 . .. : .g gL':' L ?'iW- Tj :Y --rx f' -3 1 ill It: :gg i 1- itrf '-- ilisiilili - 4 I ij' -A 1 1 , 1 -.-. ,,m,,, x, -.rum--1 it -'--li' -ftlliixo' T r':::7: ll. .- H Kfiiwcfl- NIH l- .. . 5- 1. if -1-f'.Fw-ue. aw ' - ' - -- A - 1 TQ