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19th Century Medical School Notebook of Dr. John Langsdale, 

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Historical Memorabilia Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
19th Century Medical School Notebook of Dr. John Langsdale, 

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Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
nearly 200 pages of manuscript notes from Dr. Langsdale's time at the Missouri Medical College, 1877-78. The notebook contains material from lectures, and is divided into sections, for example: Prof. Schweitzer, Ph.D., 15 to 42; Prof. Robinson, M.D., 43 to 64, 118-123; etc. A few guest speakers only have a single page. Although we have not tried to read all of this (the handwriting does deteriorate after a couple months - one thing medical school seems to be designed to do!), even a spot reading can reveal interesting historical tidbits. In the lecture on pertussis, he writes: This affection is known by its peculiar cough....It is said by some to be of nervous origin. And in the same section, he speculates on tuberculosis, suggesting that it was caused by a poison spreading through the system. This was 5 years before Koch's (1882) identification of the tubercle bacillus as the cause of this at the time all-to-common infection.

In the 19th century American medical schools were owned by faculty, whose salaries were paid by student fees. Anyone who could afford the tuition and fees could attend - no admission standards. For most schools the education consisted of two terms of lectures (roughly the equivalent of one academic year today). Few had any laboratory facilities, including access to cadavers for dissection; almost none were associated with universities; even fewer had any association with hospitals, so students never saw a patient as part of their training. In some schools, there were no grades at all; in others, students only had to pass a majority of classes (average over 50%). It is little wonder that many Americans did not trust doctors; that combined with the democratic spirit of the nation, meant that any quack could operate and sell "potents" and "devices" to patients and doctors alike.

The Missouri Medical College joined the St. Louis Medical College in 1899. The latter had already formed an affiliation with Washington University. The St. Louis-Missouri Medical College became the Medical Department of Washington University in 1900.

John Marion Langsdale (b. 1856-d.aft. 1930) appears to have had the respect of his patients and community. After graduation, he began practice in Independence, MO, moving to Kansas City in 1888. He served as Coroner for Jackson County, and as City Physician for KC. He was also active in medical associations and was a 32nd degree Mason. 

Condition: Rough. Front cover with corner missing, loose, spine nearly gone - not entirely unexpected for a notebook used daily for a year. Most pages seem to be present and for the most part readable.