The Influence of Brunonianism

A detailed Summary of The Influence of Brunonianism

In Europe at the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth a significant change was taking place in the perception, description, definition, and ordering of medical knowledge. It is during this time that "John Brown (1735-1788) founded the Brunonian system or theory of medicine. According to which, physical life consists in a peculiar excitability, the normal excitement produced by all the agents which affect the body constituting the healthy condition, while all diseases arise either from deficiency or from excess of excitement, and must be treated with stimulants or sedatives. Basically, John Brown developed a new school of therapy, which, simplified matters for the 'modern' physicians, and allowed medicine to be practiced on a whole new level.

"Two of the most important sources for the life of John Brown are the accounts by Thomas Beddoes (a Bristol physician), and that by Brown's son, William Cullen Brown." John Brown was born in 1735 (or 36) in the town of Buncle in the county of Berwick in Scotland (note: Brown's early biographers give conflicting accounts of the date and village of his birth.) Born to poor parents, Brown did not have too many options, and was apprenticed to a weaver. "He so

Despite the fact that the German physicians did not receive what they have expected from the Bronunian system, "the influence of Brown's ideas on German medical thought cannot be denied." Probably the most influential of Brown's ideas was the principle of excitability. "The idea of an active, self-reproducing and self-defending power mediating the organism's general reaction has, since then, never ceased to resonate in German medical thinking. This can be seen, for example, in Rudolf Virchow, especially when he was trying to formulate the general principles of cellular pathology."

Let us now take a look at clinical experiences in prominent teaching hospitals on the Continent to detect signs of Brunonian practices. The first one of interest is the Ospedale di San Matteo, affiliated with the University of Pavia. Joseph Frank, a strong supporter of John Brown's system, was appointed professor of medical practice at the university in 1794. He "tried to implement a specifically 'Brunonian' plan of treatment closely linked to Brown's two disease states: asthenia and sthenia." He wanted to accept Brown's entire system of medicine consequently follow its major theoretical premises.

Although it is known that John Brown's theory was easily adopted and fairly wide spread by the end of the 18th century, it is extremely difficult to trace its complete history. It is no doubt that it has influenced numerous physicians, and gave birth to new schools of thought; however, it is difficult to say how useful it was for the progression of medicinal knowledge of the time. I could almost safely argue that the benefit that the system served was the benefit of showing people what not to do. The standard "heroic" therapy was not the only risk to the sick; in the mid 1700s, historian John Bass estimated that more deaths resulted from Brunonianism than from The French Revolution or the Napoleonic wars combined.

Before the end of the century John Brown, previously unrecognized, became one of the most famous medical men in Germany. Brown's Elementa medicinae was translated and published in 1795, with a second edition coming out only a short year after. A famous physician, Andreas Roschlaub, was one of the main exponents in the advancement of Brunonianism. In 1799, he began editing a journal, known as "Roschlaub's Magazine", which for the next ten years was the main forum of Brunonian medicine. Together with Adalbert Marcus (a director of a famous hospital), Roschlaub "successfully worked out the Brunonian system of medicine" , and published the results of their collab

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Approximate Word count = 1741
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History