Author: Lyle G. McNeile
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2015-07-27
Total Pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9781332024797
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Excerpt from Notes on Pathological and Operative Obstetrics The obstetric art is rapidly assuming its proper position among the medical specialties. The importance of the subject is today receiving more recognition than ever before, as a result of the late war, and consequent need for child conservation. The medical student of today is far better equipped to deal with the intricacies and difficulties which arise in the delivery room than ever before in the history of medical education. While in the other branches of medicine and surgery the attendant is usually able to look up the authorities regarding the diagnosis and treatment of the condition with which he is confronted, in obstetrics he is compelled to put into practice the knowledge which he already possesses, and to apply that knowledge at once. If he is faulty in his tehcnical skill, the patient and her offspring are the innocent sufferers. Regard for the welfare of the unborn child is growing year by year. This entails a more careful supervision of the patient, during pregnancy and labor, and the early recognition and treatment of the various obstetric accidents. The attendant must recognize that he is treating two patients, and that the rights of both are to be respected. For the mother to endure the disability due to pregnancy, and the suffering of labor, with its consequences, and then to be presented with a dead child, is a serious calamity. The fundamental principle in obstetrics is to deliver a healthy child in a manner which traumatizes or otherwise damages both mother and child in the last possible manner. It is not sufficient to measure obstetrical success by the number of living mothers and babies, but the morbidity, which may incapacitate the patient, must always be considered. An "obstetric conscience" is essential. In general surgery, the physician is often prompted through fear of criticism on the part of his associates, to be aseptic, and to be conservative. In private obstetrical practice, on the other hand, his environment is such that without this "obstetric conscience" he may find it easy to excuse errors in technique and in judgment, by the application of a time-worn phrase, "Due to poor surroundings." After several years of experience in teaching obstetrics, and in consultation practice, the author has concluded that many of the errors into which medical students and young practitioners fall are due to lack of specificity in outlining diagnosis and treatment, as found in the larger text-books. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
