Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Physic, (1858), by Thomas Watson, M.D.

A copy of this text book is listed in the 1864 Surgeon General’s Office Library Catalogue.

First published in the Medical Times & Gazette, 1840-42, Watson’s famous lectures appeared in book form and formed the most important treatise of medicine for a quarter century. Watson wrote in a fine style, and his book was reorganized as a sound guide to clinical medicine. Watson suggested rubber gloves for antisepsis; he also instructed his students to wash their hands in a solution of chloride of lime before assisting at deliveries. Garrison and Morton. Thomas Watson studied at Cambridge and later became chair of the principles and practice of medicine at King’s College. Watson served as president of the Royal College of Physicians for five years and also was Gulstonian and Lumleian lecturer.