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Benjamin Rush, MD
Born outside of Philadelphia, Benjamin Rush was a physician, educator, surgeon general of the Continental army, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Creator:
R. W. Dodson (1812-1867)
Related Information
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Directions for the use of the mineral water and cold bath, at Harrogate, near Philadelphia, 1786
American physician Benjamin Rush notes the beneficial qualities of mineral water to treat numerous conditions. He wrote that "In the Epilepsy, when it arises from an affection of the stomach, or the womb, or from a general weak habit of body, this [mineral] water is proper." (page 4)
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The new method of inoculating for the small-pox: delivered in a lecture in the University of Pennsylvania, on the 20th of February, 1781
Professor Benjamin Rush lectured on smallpox inoculation, a process that introduced a healthy person to smallpox infected materials for the purpose of causing a mild form of the disease, and then immunity. During inoculation, the infected person would be looked after during the course of the disease. Inoculation was risky, though, as some patients would not survive their bout with smallpox.
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