University of Virginia catalogue

The session of the Medical Department continues through the full nine
months of the University session. This arrangement enables seven professors
and instructors to do thoroughly the work which is often allotted to a larger
number in institutions whose session is much shorter.

The importance of a knowledge of Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology,
before commencing the study of the more practical branches, is fully recognized;
and the course of study is so arranged that during the first half session
the instruction is in these important elementary branches. During the
same time the subjects of Medical Jurisprudence and Obstetrics, especially
the mechanical features of the latter branch, are studied by the class.

The courses and methods of instruction in the several Schools of the
Department are as follows:

SCHOOL OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY.

Prof. Mallet.

In this School the students are taught thoroughly Chemical Physics and
the principles of Chemistry; and their attention is directed, whenever an
occasion presents itself, to the application of chemical principles to the practice
of Medicine, Therapeutics, Toxicology and Sanitary Science. (See
page 36.)

Text book.—Fownes's Chemistry. For reference.—Charles's Physiological and Pathologi
cal Chemistry; Wormley's Micro-Chemistry of Poisons

SCHOOL OF ANATOMY AND MATERIA MEDICA.

Prof. Towles.

I. Anatomy.—The instruction in Descriptive, Surgical, and Topographical
Anatomy is given by didactic lectures combined with the course of
Practical Anatomy as taught in the Dissecting Hall. The endeavor throughout
is to render the teaching as completely practical as possible; scarcely a
statement is made that is not illustrated by its exhibition, either on actual
dissection or on the preparation of a dissection, the effort being to convey
knowledge in the so-called natural method, that is, by mental imagery
formed by repeated observations of nature. This is accomplished by exhibiting
to the student and requiring him to handle the dissected parts and
preparations made therefrom. The equipment of the School for this purpose
is most ample; and, in addition to the numerous preparations and dissections,
there are models and anatomical paintings representing the greater part of
the anatomy of the body.

For the course in Practical Anatomy, dissecting material obtained under
the permissive law of the State is abundantly supplied without cost to the
student. Each medical student, however many sessions he may have
attended, is required to dissect under the constant and careful supervision
of the Demonstrator. Attendance in the dissecting-room is compulsory, a
strict record being kept in the case of each student. Besides the oral examination,
which precedes each lecture, and the other examinations to be mentioned
hereafter, each student is required to stand seven practical examinations
on anatomy, one upon osteology, four upon different parts of the
muscular system, one on the viscera, and one on the vessels and nerves.
These examinations are oral and private, each student being examined alone.
They consist of the identification of the truths of anatomy on the bones,
the cadaver, and the dissected cadaver, and are thus a perfect test of the
student's acquaintance with the gross structure of the human body.

II. Materia Medica and Therapeutics.—The lectures on Materia
Medica occur in the latter half of the session, after the student has obtained
the knowledge of the primary branches prerequisite to the proper understanding
of the subject. Particular stress is laid upon the physiological action
and rational therapeutical applications of drugs. The physical properties of
drugs are taught by requiring the student to learn them from specimens,
a complete collection being provided, which contains specimens both of all
the crude drugs and of all their preparations, which have been dealt with in
the lectures.

Text-books.—Bruce's Materia Medica and Therapeutics; United States Pharmacopœia, or
Index of Materia Medica. The student should provide himself, if possible, with specimens
of all the bones.

SCHOOL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND SURGERY.

Prof. Cabell.

I. In Physiology the lectures are illustrated by plates, and the students
are instructed in Histology as well as in Physiology proper. Much attention
is given throughout the course to the practical bearings of physiological and
histological facts on pathology, and their relations to the nature and treatment
of disease. Extra lectures are given, commencing about the middle
of December, at which the students are questioned on all that part of Physiology
which they have studied previously. It has been found that these
"review lectures" are very useful to the students as a preparation for the
final examinations.

II. In Surgery especial attention is given to the causation and pathology
of the various surgical affections, and the lectures are illustrated by
excellent paintings and by morbid specimens. The applications of splints
and apparatus for the different fractures and the details of minor surgery are
practically exhibited to the class.

Text-books.—Yeo's Manual of Physiology; Power's Human Physiology (American edition);
Wilson's Manual of Hygiene and Sanitary Science (5th edition, 1884); Ashurst's
Surgery; Klein's Histology. For Occasional Reference: Foster's Physiology; Landois's
Physiology; and a few monographs on special subjects.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, OBSTETRICS AND MEDICAL
JURISPRUDENCE.

Prof. Dabney.

I. In Medical Jurisprudence the student is instructed in the principles
of the science, and is taught how to apply these principles when he is summoned
as a witness in a court of law.

II. In Obstetrics instruction is given by lectures, and the mechanical
principles involved in the study are explained and illustrated by the use of
suitable preparations and models. The student is drilled in this part of the
subject during the early part of the course, and attention is subsequently
called to the diseases and accidents incident to pregnancy and the puerperal
state. Each student is also taught practically the various manipulations, both
manual and instrumental.

III. In Practice of Medicine especial attention is given to the principles
of the subject, the aim being to instruct the students as thoroughly as possible
in the causation of diseases and the morbid changes which occur in the

different tissues. The lectures are illustrated by morbid specimens, both
coarse and microscopic, and each student has the opportunity of examining
these specimens for himself. Each student furthermore is taught the method
of making a physical examination of a patient, and is required to learn, by
actual examination, under the supervision of the Professor, the normal appearances
and sounds in the different regions of the body and over the different
organs.

IV. Classes have also been established in Practical Microscopy. Attendance
is optional, but the desire to make good use of the opportunity thus
offered seems to be general. Each student is taught practically how to use
the microscope, to cut and stain sections of tissues, to examine urine and
blood, etc. In addition to a knowledge of microscopic manipulation thus
obtained, it is found that students can get a far clearer idea of morbid anatomy
and pathology in this way.

Text-books.—Reese's Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology; Playfair's Midwifery (last
edition); Strümpell's Practice of Medioine; Flint's or Loomis's Physical Diagnosis; Payne's
Pathology; Friedlander's Practical Microscopy; Lewer's Diseases of Women.

CLINICAL INSTRUCTION.

A Free Dispensary and Hospital are now in operation near the University,
in which the students are taught the methods of examining patients
and the changes which occur in the normal functions of the body as a result of
disease. In recognition of the impossibility of giving practical instruction
by the ordinary clinical lectures, the class is divided into sections, so that
each student may have the opportunity of examining patients for himself,
under the guidance of the Professor. In addition to the patients who come
to the Dispensary, others who are too sick to attend are visited at their
homes.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.

The instruction is given by systematic lectures, daily oral and periodical
written examinations, with associated practical work in Anatomy and
Pathology.

The daily oral examinations on the subject of the previous lecture are of
great value in stimulating the student to regular and systematic habits of
study, and furnishing the Professor an opportunity of discovering and
removing the difficulties met with by the student. The Intermediate written

examinations demand frequent and careful reviews, and familiarize the
class with the form of the Final or graduating examinations, which are also
in writing and of a rigorous character.

Besides these examinations, there is a general oral review at the close of
the session on all the different branches on which the student has graduated
during either that session or some preceding one; this is intended to
test the permanent acquisition of such general knowledge as every practitioner
of medicine should possess. The Faculty have introduced these oral
reviews partly to prepare students more thoroughly for the State Examinations
in Virginia, and the other States which hold such examinations, as well as
for entrance into the Medical Corps of the Army and Navy and the Marine
Hospital service.

REQUISITES FOR GRADUATION.

Graduation in Medicine, as in other Departments of the University of
Virginia, does not depend upon the time which has been spent in the study
of medicine, but upon the preparation of the student, as indicated by rigid
examinations, which he is called upon to stand. Hence it is possible for a
diligent student to graduate in one session. But the severe and protracted
labor necessary for this purpose is attended with evils of which the
Medical Faculty is fully conscious; and it is considered far better for a
student to attend lectures for two sessions, giving his attention during the
first session to the subjects of Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physiology especially,
and endeavoring to obtain only such a general knowledge of the
other branches as will better enable him to complete the course and to profit
by the instruction of the second year.

DEGREE.

The Degree of Doctor of Medicine is conferred on one who has passed
examination in all the prescribed subjects of instruction in the Schools of
the Medical Department. A candidate who in a previous session has become
a Proficient in Anatomy, or Physiology, or Medical Jurisprudence, or a
Graduate in Chemistry, is not required to stand the written examination in
these subjects anew for his degree.

EXPENSES.

The necessary expenses of a student in the Medical Department are, for
the session of nine months, as follows:

University Fees—
Matriculation	$ 25
Infirmary Fee	7
Dormitory Rent (two in a room)	15
Tuition (including fce for dissection)	110
Total of Fees	$157
Living Expenses—
Fuel, Lights and Washing	25
Board at $13 a Month	117
Total necessary expenses (board at $13)	$299
Payable on entrance	$210

The sum payable on entrance includes a contingent deposit of $10, which
is credited in final settlement, and hence forms no part of the necessary
expenses. This deposit is assessed for damage to property, violation of Library
rules, and so on.

To the above total must be added the cost of books, stationery and dissecting
instruments, about $45 for the entire course, and the cost of a degree,
which, if taken, is $15. The books purchased will be of permanent value to
the student as part of his professional library.

The board at $13 is plain, but wholesome and abundant. Better board
can be had at $18 a month. At $18 the total necessary expenses will be $344,
of which $228 is payable on entrance.

For the entire course, if taken in one year, the necessary expenses, including
books, will be $335 to $389, according to the price paid for board, with
the addition of $15 for the degree, if the degree is taken.

COURSES IN GENERAL BIOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY.

The especial attention of students of Medicine, and of those who are preparing
for entrance upon professional study, is invited to the courses in General
Biology (page 40), and in Analytical Chemistry (page 37). These subjects
furnish an admirable preparation for and enlargement of the strictly
professional course. The classes in Medical Chemistry and Practical Phar
macy (page 38), are designed particularly for students of Medicine; and the
latter is given without charge except for laboratory material to such of them
as engage to attend the entire course.

University of Virginia Library

MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.

COURSES OF STUDY IN GENERAL.