THE 
 
 INAUGUEATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PATHOLOGICAL BUILDING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 I^E W YORK, OCTOBER 25, 1856. 
 
 Rep ri XI ted from tlie Xcav Yorit Journal of Medicine. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 WILEY & HALSTED, 3*51 BROADWAY, 
 185G. 
 
SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 to serve 1 year from January 1, 1856. 
 
 U li 2 " 
 
 Simeon Draper, 
 Isaac Bell, " 
 
 Anthony Dugro, " " 2 " " " 
 
 WashixNGton Smith, '* '* 2 " " " 
 
 Isaac Townsend, 3 " " " 
 
 Wm. S. Duke, 3 " " " 
 
 Daniel F. Tiemann, - 4 " " " 
 
 Jos. S. Taylor, " 4 " " " '''' 
 
 Isaac J. Oliver, " 5 " " " 
 
 C. Godfrey Gunther, " 5 " '* " " 
 Simeon Draper is the President, and C. Godfrey Gunther the Secretary 
 of the Board ; Edwin B. Corwin, Chief Clerk ; Joshua PhiUips, Clerk to 
 
 Governor ; Samuel R. Spelman, Supply Clerk ; Corns. M. Kellock, Mes- 
 senger. 
 
 1856. 
 
 Consulting Pliysicians. 
 
 John W. Francis, M.D., LL.D., 
 
 Fresident of the Medical Board. 
 Isaac Wood, M.D. 
 
 Pliysicians. 
 
 Alonzo Clark, M.D. 
 John T. Metcalfe, M.D. 
 Ben J. W. McCready, M.D. 
 Isaac E. Taylor, M.D. 
 Geo. T. Elliot, Jr., M.D. 
 B. Fordyce Barker. M.D. 
 
 Consulting Surgeons. 
 
 Valentine Mott, M.D., LL.D. 
 Alex. H. Stevens, M.D., LL.D. 
 
 Surgeons. 
 James R. Wood, M.D. 
 Willard Parker, M.D, 
 Chas. D. Smith, M.D. 
 John J. Crane, M.D. 
 Lewis A. Sayre, M.D, 
 John A. Lidell, M.D, 
 Stephen Smith, M.D. 
 
INAUGURATION 
 
 Saturday the 25tli of October, 1S5G, is likely to be long re- 
 membered by the friends of medical and surgical science. The 
 new and commodious edifice recently finished by our able Board of 
 Governors, for the accommodation of the various purposes con- 
 nected with the Bellevue Hospital, was opened on that day to a 
 large assembly of the students of medical, surgical, and obstetrical 
 science, and the judicious arrangements of that portion of the build- 
 ing designed for public instruction presented in its crowded auditory 
 a sight most gratifying to the enlightened Board of Governors, and 
 the Faculty of Instruction. The disciples of the several schools of 
 Medicine in New York, those of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons — of the New York University — and of the Thirteenth Street 
 Medical College, formed a body of some three hundred and upwards, 
 who occupied the seats of the theatre arranged for anatomical and 
 pathological instruction. The several physicians and surgeons of the 
 Bellevue Hospital were in attendance as well as the prominent mem- 
 bers of the several Colleges. 
 
 The special business of the day was announced by an address to the 
 large audfence by John W. Francis, M.D., LL.I>.^the President of the 
 Medical Board. He gave a concise history of the first introduction of 
 clinical instruction in Great Britain, and of the practical labors of the 
 late eminent Dr. Saunders, of London, to whom was awarded the 
 claims of having been the original projector of clinical lectures at 
 Guy's Hospital, now nearly a century ago. The vast advantage of 
 that species of instruction v/as dwelt upon by the venerable speaker, 
 who related some interesting incidents on the subj<3ct, a knowledge of 
 which he had derived from the lips of Br. Saunders himself in his 
 interviews with him at his retreat at Enfield, some forty years since. 
 
 With a letter of introduction, said Dr. Francis, furnished me by Dr. 
 Samuel Bard, the second President of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, and who had been a fellow»pupil with Saunders at Edin- 
 burgh, I approached him with due reverence. He was now at least 
 midway between seventy and eighty years old. He surpassed the 
 ordinary size, and, I think, might have had the bulk of some two 
 hundred pounds and more. His countenance was of a sweet and 
 benignant aspect, with almost the freshness of youth ; his features 
 
4 
 
 regular and well proportioned ; his front full and elevated : bis 
 nose was well proportioned, and Lis gray eyes, arched with thick 
 brows, bespoke intelligence. I saw no hirsute developments about 
 him, save his ample locks of driven snow, and his formidable queu, of 
 at least one inch in diameter, and extending down his back to the 
 verge of the sacral region. It needed but little elongation to make a 
 respectable walking cane. His hand had the delicacy of a lady's. 
 He wore a full-dressed black coat, with large side pockets, a yellow 
 vest, black silk breeches, and broad silver shoe buckles. His whole 
 bearing seemed like that of a gentleman of superior talents, retired 
 from an eminent position. With an utterance somewhat grave, yet 
 free and distinct, he spoke of his collegiate days at Edinburgh with 
 his associate Bard. He spoke of the London schools of his earlier 
 days with those of the present time ; of his career as a clinical teacher ; 
 of John Hunter ; the prospects of the American schools, etc. All 
 that he said was delivered with a deep conviction of the sober trusts 
 that had been confided to him, and with au emphatic and distinct 
 articulation. Such was Dr. AYilliam Saunders, the author of one of 
 our most popular text-books in myvStudent's day ; chronologically the 
 y7r5i clinical instructor of London. As he had, during his long life 
 and prominent situation, imparted knowledge to many, of the men ^f 
 our own land whose renown has reached you, I could not but give 
 these reminiscences of him. The reflections which arise in contem- 
 plating this old teacher, the first who installed clinical science as a 
 distinct branch of the profession, I must leave within your own 
 bosoms. YoUj gentlemen, come here from remote parts, and I thought 
 you would like to know something of the 2:)ersond of Dr. Saunders. 
 
 It has been often said that the organization of an Italian opera, de- 
 manded a combination of talents which could be the result only of a . 
 union of artistic powers of the highest order, and that such a work 
 gave assurance of the combined wisdom and genius of man superior to 
 any other proofs of his emotional and reasoning faculties. By the 
 lovers of the melodious strain and of expressive harmony, this encomium 
 may be received as justifiable of the various emotions ; yet I think I 
 am warranted to affirm, from along survey of humanity, that institu- 
 tions, such as those to which our common labors are appropriated, arc 
 the very essence of that Christianity we profess to recognize as a ruling 
 power — the active principle of social relationship and of individual 
 virtue : they concentrate, if I may be allowed so to express myself, 
 the very marrow of the laws of Mount Sinai, and the doctrines of 
 Him who came with healing on His wings. Can you tell mc of a sub- 
 
5 
 
 limer sight than that of Cheselden, whose name 3-ou must revere as 
 among the illustrious in our profession, conducting in the closest bonds 
 of friendship, the bard of all time the tuneful Pope, in his visitation 
 through the Hospital to survey, as the proper study of man, the sickness 
 and the sorrows, the hopes and the triumphs of the Chelsea pensioners, 
 under the treatment of that great master, whose skill, like the miracle 
 of his Redeemer, poured eye-sight on the blind. Mozart and Ros- 
 sini may have exalted our feelings to an immeasurable hight, and 
 overwhelmed the tenderest sensibilities of the soul, and softened, by 
 cadences, the roughest nature. Our glorious Cheselden challenges a 
 still loftier recognition, and a future Reubens and Leonardo might find 
 in his active life a befitting tlieme for their grandest conceptions. 
 
 But the circumstances of the hour forbid enlargement on the dig- 
 nity and the graces which hospitals stamp upon the humanities of 
 the age. We are now to glance a little more professionally at the sub- 
 ject. How much has medical and surgical science abroad been pro- 
 moted by this organization ! In our own country like evidence of 
 their great utility is daily demonstrated. Our greatest physicians, as 
 well as our greatest surgeons, have, with few exceptions, been schooled 
 in such institutions ; and the wholesome exhibition presented before 
 us to-day of almost an army of young men watching the operations of 
 the surgeon's knife and listening to his practical precepts, from his 
 verbal disquisitions, furnish a contrast most cheering to the friends of 
 science and humanity, compared with times gone by, when a Hunter 
 and a Fordyce lectured to classes amounting to not more than a dozen 
 or twenty hearers. Our Bellevue Hospital, added the speaker, 
 embraces every appliance the student needs; ample room, diseases of 
 every variety in nosological nomenclature, accidents of every species 
 for surgical manipulation ; all for the triumphs of clinical science, 
 medical and chirurgical, such as few other institutions can boast, and 
 surpassing in numbers almost every other establishment of a similar 
 nature throughout our wide-spread republic. In making these obser- 
 vations, (added Dr. F.,) let us not forget the arduous labors and 
 services of the distinguished men, our predecessors, who have toiled 
 in this best of causes : — Prs. Isaac Wood, Benjamin Ogden, David M. 
 Reese, and others, and let us remember, with gratitude, hov. for 
 years past, our present associates have devoted their time and talents 
 in the furtherance of this great design. The reputation of New York 
 in the domain of surgery stands on a broad foundation. Her Mott, 
 liQjc Stevens, her Post, her Kissam, are not to be overlooked, when 
 the records of scientific surgery are unfolded for your contemplation- 
 
6 
 
 I hesitate not to say, concluded the speaker, that this present new 
 and commodious arrangement for clinical knowledge will prove a per- 
 manent blessing to the afflicted poor and the helpless sufferer, as well 
 as to your intellectual and professional distinction ; and, I am thrice 
 happy to add, that for the special assistance which has so happily 
 brought to such an issue this worthy design, there is not one of you 
 who will not speak in accents of gratitude and regard the name of our 
 liberal and enlightened cooperator, Surgeon James Wood. Conflict- 
 ing elements have yielded to his energetic action ; discordaflt views 
 have harmonized with his wiser deliberations ; the constituted author- 
 ities have yielded to his benevolent requests, and the new edifice is 
 now ready for your benefit. Gentlemen, I now have the pleasure of 
 introducing to this assembly Dr. Valentine Mott, &o long and so 
 widely "known in both worlds as the unrivaled operator in surgery. 
 Amidst great cheering, Professor Mott came forward. 
 
 Dii. Mott congratulated the large convention of students who filled 
 the Hall, on the auspicious circumstances which marked the day ; he 
 spoke at some length of the value of clinical knowledge as the only 
 basis of sound practice, both m medicine and surgery, and referred to 
 the earlier period of his professional career, when^ in 1810, he first 
 projected, in Columbia College, a course of Clinical Surgery in New 
 York. He had ever considered it the only safe and reliable method 
 to make a sound and effective operator. Yet this surgery must, like 
 every department of the art, be founded on anatomical knowledge, 
 and this only could be obtained by the severest toil and devotion in 
 the dissecting room. Days and nights, nay years, may be appropri- 
 ated to the investigations which the scalpel unfolds, in order to render 
 our surgical designs triumphant. With becoming deference he paid 
 the tribute of the highest praise to his late associate in hospital and 
 collegiate duties. Dr. Wright Post ; his anatomy was his passport ; 
 on that he (Dr. P.) had built his far-famed renown as a surgeon. 
 Professor Mott then added, I will now proceed, without further intro- 
 duction, to give you, with the cadaver before me, the anatomy of her- 
 nia. The distinguished teacher then fulfilled his design, with an ani- 
 mation and an earnestness that convinced his audience that in his 
 hands the art of teaching had not lost its skill after a devotion of fifty 
 years, and that time had not impaired either his manual dexterity, or 
 his descriptive powers. 
 
 Prof. Stevens, late President of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, so long known in the chirurgical world, was then introduced. 
 He said he had little to add to the remarks which had been already 
 
7 
 
 offered on this most interesting occasion. He full}' coincided in the 
 enlarged views which had been presented at this meeting in behalf of 
 the value of clinical knowledge, and congratulated the students upon 
 the ample means now presented them to prosecute their studies in the 
 most successful manner, to secure their laudable designs. He was 
 aware how years had rolled on, how many efforts had been made, and 
 how devoted had been his colleagues to secure the noble object with 
 which they had at first set out. The work is now finished, and thanks 
 to the unceasing efforts, in a great degree, of our friend. Dr. James R. 
 Wood ; and you, gentlemen, are to be the favored recipients of all these 
 advantages. Let your devotion be as sincere as the efforts of our 
 Medical Board have been praiseworthy. Our pride will be to behold 
 you going forth to answer your responsible duties, appropriately dis- 
 ciplined in the learning of our science, and in an especial manner with 
 that wisdom which clinical experience alone yields. 
 
 Prof. Willard Parker, upon invitation, addressed the meetiug, 
 with a conviction that at leno^th the medical students could here resort 
 with safety and with profit for clinical knowledge. ^Ye abound in 
 great charities for the relief of the suffering poor, and for the treat' 
 ment of their infirmities, physical and mental. Our New York Hos- 
 pitals, said the Professor, challenges our highest regard as a noble 
 charity, and as a great clinical school. He enumerated many others 
 of the large and commodious institutions with which our city abounds, 
 as the Bloomingdale Asylum, the Emigrant Hospital, St. Lnke's Hos- 
 pital, all un5er a wise control for the interests of humanity, for the 
 cure of disease, for the advancement of medical science, and to lessen 
 in every way the ills to which " fiesh is heir to." He detailed with 
 much minuteness the various efforts which from time to time had been 
 adopted to promote the advancement of the students of medicine and 
 surgery, and he now congratulated them that the work was completed, 
 and the end worthy of the labor. " Finis coronat opus.'' The 
 several individuals who had promoted this good cause were passed in 
 review before him; the Board of Governors, he was rejoiced to ^ay. 
 had tendered to them all that could be desired, and the Medical Board 
 could not but, in return, offer them their grateful homage. In con- 
 clusion, said Dr. Parker, let us not overlook the fact, that for those 
 blessings, for so I must call them, great as is our obligation to many, 
 we, of all others that might be enumerated, are most indebted to Dr. 
 Wood; he has never wearied nor ever tired in his charitable and be- 
 neficent design. The address of Dr. P. was of some length, and 
 listened to with interest. Loud call was now made for Dr. Wood. 
 
8 
 
 Dr. James R. "Wood, so long a prominent surgeon of the Bellevue 
 Hospital arose and thanked the audience for the tokens of approval 
 for his services which they now so freely gave. He said he had for 
 nearly twenty years given much of his time, and his humble abili- 
 ties to bring about the favorable result which they now had before 
 them. No city of the Union presents so many opportunities for the 
 promotion of the medical and surgical art, nowhere are there ma- 
 terials to build up a great practical school of scientific medicine, greater 
 than in this city, nowhere has the student greater opportunities for 
 practical study. I early saw that these advantages were within our 
 reach, added Dr. W., and I am, while fully alive to the services of my 
 colleagues, not backward in affirming that amidst great disheartenings 
 at various times, I have always borne a cheerful spirit that the day 
 would arrive when you, gentlemen, would be able to possess the ad- 
 vantages which we this day present for your acceptance. Dr. W. 
 detailed many circumstances occurring during the past twenty years, 
 connected with the modified plans of improvements which had been in 
 part rejected and in part adopted, until with the concurrence and aid 
 of the Board of Crovernors, the ample arrangement now effected had 
 been permanently secured. I am most solicitous, added Dr. W., that 
 these apartments shall also contain a museum of morbid anaton-ry, and 
 I solicit that every member of our profession who may obtain such a 
 specimen, will add it to our collection. Little time will elapse ere 
 such a museum must become a treasure of inestimable importance. 
 The laws of the state passed not long ago, under most judicious lim- 
 itation, has made the fullest provision for the materials of our labors : 
 an Hospital, that at a commmon average, finds accommodations for 
 j?ome six or seven thousand individuals, annually, afflicted with every 
 variety of medical or surgical infirmity, it must be admitted, cannot 
 but furnish a great field for the noblest humanity in the two-fold act of 
 healing and instruction. 
 
 At the conclusion of his address. Dr. Wood announced to the stu- 
 dents of the tliree medical colleges of this city that two premiums, one 
 of fifty dollars, and the other of twenty-five dollars would be awarded by 
 liim for the two best anatomical preparations, prepared and presented 
 by them to the proposed Museum : the decision on the merits of the 
 several preparations to be made by the respective surgical and ana- 
 tomical professors of the Colleges, and a suitable testimonial to the 
 successful competitors be given, signed by the said professors. 
 Dr. Wood sat down amidst the cheers of a gratified audience. 
 After some minor business was transacted the meeting adjourned.