Literature Annotations
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McKechnie, Robert E. |
| Genre | History (183 pp.) |
| Keywords | Acculturation, Alternative Medicine, Art of Medicine, Developing Countries, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Epidemics, History of Medicine, Medical Advances, Medical Mistakes, Native-American Experience, Nature, Physician Experience, Surgery, War and Medicine |
| Summary | Dr. McKechnie begins his overview of the history of the practice of medicine in British Columbia with records of Coastal Native practices encountered by the first explorers of the Northwest Territory in the 18th century. This opening section of the work contains interesting folklore regarding some of the methodologies and medicinals utilized, and terminates in descriptions of the rites surrounding the initiation of a new Shaman. Moving forward in time, the author explores the early naval medicine of the seamen and their captains, including the early intermingling of the explorers with the Coastal Indians. The plagues of smallpox, measles, syphilis, and tuberculosis attributed to the arrival on the western continent of organisms to which the natives were not immune are covered briefly. The third portion of the book is devoted to the changes in medical practice on this particular frontier as the emerging science of the 19th century moved gradually westward. The final chapters cover the century of the great world wars and the progressive advances in medical science as they affected the residents and physicians of British Columbia. |
| Commentary | This little book covers roughly four centuries of medical practice in the area that would eventually become the Canadian province of British Columbia. The coverage is of necessity abbreviated and the author has chosen certain areas upon which to concentrate. As a result, the work is not comprehensive, but the content presented provides additional insight into frontier medicine on this continent. |
| Publisher | Morriss Printing |
| Edition | 1972 |
| Place Published | Victoria, B.C., Canada |
| Alternate Publisher | J. J. Douglas |
| Alternate Edition | 1972 |
| Place Published | Vancouver |
| Annotated by | Willms, Janice L. |
| Date of Entry | 07/02/04 |