A Word of Wisdom on “Female Diseases” — 1898 | Historical Records

“It is the habit of a great many practitioners, when they are not able to
make a diagnosis, to say, ‘female trouble.’ I think I know of several cases where women have been hurried to their graves by having their wombs treated, when perhaps rest and hygienic surroundings was all they needed.”

~ Country Doctor Near Coloma, Missouri | 1898

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction and Orientation to Obstetrics and Gynecology
• George C. Highsmith, M.D. — Day With a Country Doctor
• Takeaways for Modern Day

INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTATION TO OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

The medical field has advanced astronomically since 1898. Thanks to Louis Pasteur (along with his amazing predecessors and contemporaries) discovering the germ theory in the late 1850s and 1860s through a number of experiments [1]. Joseph Lister importantly built upon Pasteur’s work to promote the use of antiseptic, sterile conditions when conducting surgeries [2].