HISTORY 70F Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Samuel Hahnemann, Patent Medicine, Cinchona
Document Summary
Following validation of germ theory, the ideas of humoral theory are finally disproved. Doesn"t mean university based physicians are able to dominate medical market place o. )=people who pretend to have medical knowledge, druggists. See a desire among university trained physicians to professionalize themselves: distinguish themselves as unique people who are the only ones with access to particular medical knowledge. Changing shape of society: capitalism/market economy o. Typically urban, white-collar workers (government bureaucrats, managers, etc. ) Changing shape of medicine: desire for profit-->lead to development of patent medicines. Patent medicines would be a thorn in the side of university trained physicians. More people wanted to enter the business: desire for choice-->alternative medicine. People don"t have to go to hospital, don"t have to trust knowledge of physicians: competition-->professionalization. Biomedical physicians find themselves under pressure to distinguish themselves. Try to do so by increasingly trying to frame themselves as professionals.
