Herbal Med1 Samuel Thomson 2015 16

7/24/2019 Herbal Med1 Samuel Thomson 2015 16

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American Medicine & Thomson 1.01

D. Mackay


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North America & Canada

Native American Indians Medicine Wheel

Elements, Humors, Nature Spirits, Directions,ancestors, mind, body, organs, tissues, colours

Man as part of nature (holism, ?gaia)

Regional differences bioregional Ritual, sacred sites, shrines, etc

Sweat lodges, scarring (phlebotomy) Purging

Water, Diet, exercise

Doctors, herbalists, shamans, midwives, etc

Nomadic hunter gatherer

+ crops and settlements (bioregional)


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Native American Map


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American Herbs

Including:

Hydrastis canadensis

Echinacea purpurea

Lobelia inflata Cayenne pepper

Canada fleabane (conyza)

Solidago canadensis

Pacific Yew**

.numerous ethnobotanical texts; tribal pharmacopeia'savailable + the works of Michael Moore are recommended


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Herbs from North America

Check your materia medica and see if you canfind any? Check Mrs Grieves website if you arehaving trouble finding any

Or check US ethnobotany websites and native

American resoures Susan Weed (author, healer, + website) = might

be a good gateway?

Michael Moore books = very good

Find an online copy of Thomsons book andinvestigate the herbs he recommends.


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From Britain to America

back to Britain

Amongst many other colonial powers, the

British landed and established colonies in

North America


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Samuel Thomson (1769 1843)

Highly influential figure in American medicine during the1700s early 1800s

Inspired a resurgence in British herbal medicine, an interestin American herbal remedies & greatly influencing the

physiomedical school

Seen as a major impact on medicine that played a majorrole in re-establishing Vitalistic medicine

The physiomedical medical model details Vitality as thefoundation of its practice (Vis medicatrix naturae)


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Thomson began to practice in a time whenmedicine was described as `heroic medicine

Doctors were heroes, frontiers men, typifying thebrave new era. Their medicines also part of thatclaim providing sometimes radical cure whereremedies of tha past had failed and alsoemploying extreme medicines to `fight disease

= remebering that these doctors believe diseaseis caused by external ills only


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Heroic medicine employed blood letting, mercurydrugs, high dose minerals and metals; chemicalpoisons; extreme therapies that pushed the client tothe extreme

Purging had a large place in medicine

If they did not kill the patient, they were often seen assuccessful and although they could providesymptomatic relief this system did not take intoaccount suppression of illness, internal factors, nor thedevelopment of chronic disorders


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Samuel Thomson life

Sick as a child

Fixed by (Widow) Mrs Benton

His mother dying during heroic medical treatmentsdisturbed him

Medical efforts during his childrens births disturbedhim

A sick daughter the medical establishment could notcure which he himself healed through `nativetheories and traditional practice (steam bath)

His visitations from early childhood with Mrs Bentonhad a lasting effect on Thomson

Also the herbal efforts of Dr Kitteridge impressed him


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Much of the US colony started to useThomsons methods

They say 60-80% of his colony (?Pennsylvania?) were using his methods

The Doctors were unhappy and tried to have

him imprisoned and barred from practice tono avail.


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How the body works Thomson style

Seen as a fountain; cycling water and energy

With surface valves opening and closing

Vitalist = vital force animates us

Holistic = environmental `participants


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Thomson pillars of health

`Thomsonianism

Thomson accepted Hippocrates as the fatherof medicine and his practices echoed those

that Thomson had learnt from the Americantradition

Thomsonianism resurrected the concept of

the vital force as a mainstream understandingof health and the human condition


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M. Moore on Thomson

Thomson's own description of his legal problems is given in flat,understated New England dryness and couched in seeming venalparanoia.... After finishing the later material, offering 3rd partyperspective, you realize that Thomson's movement had affected amillion or more Americans, started a medical reformation thatwould not peak for another 50 years, and the brightest medical

minds of the time were split vehemently both against and forThomson's right to practice...bitterly divided between Federalistsand Republican politics...Populists and Elitists...rural and urban. Thetribulations of this former pig farmer rocked the young republic forover a decade and were headlines everywhere. Because of thesuccess of Thomson and his followers, states began, for the firsttime, regulating medical practice along party and class lines. Messy

and fascinating stuff


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Thomsons `New guide to Health

Patent medicines

Index correlates conditions with formula and advice

Herbs, doses and formulas are given numbers e.g.spoon of number one, a spoonful of number 3 and ahandful of number 4.

This made is accessible to the common people

Each patent sold came with one year supply of herbs


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Who, what, when, how

During and after Samuel Thomson

The physiomedical school

The eclectic school

Dr Coffin, Dr Cook

Thurston, Lyle,

http://www.swsbm.com/ManualsOther/Samuel_Thomson-Lloyd.pdf

*Chiropractors (arose during the same time period)


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Coffin & Cook, et al

Alva Kurtis starts the `"Independent Thomsonian MedicalSociety from which formed the Eclectic school

The Physiomedical School largely

The information from Thomson was taken back to Englandand promoted by Doctor Coffin and Doctor Cook

They are notable amongst the physiomedical and eclecticpractitioners of the time.

Along with Lyle, Lloyd and Thurston


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Physiomedical Vitalism

& the Tissue States


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THE PRINCIPA

1. The Human organism is essentially a vital

commonwealth, dominated by the Vital

force, with integrative, constructive, and

regenerative instinct


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Tissue States & Medicinal Actions

Actions of plants can be described as a variety

of classes and categories

In regard to `tissue states we can categorisethe imbalance as:

Physiological imbalance

Physiological function Organ affinity


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Physiological imbalance

E.g. astringent, stimulant, sedative, aromatic,

antispasmodic

Physiological function

E.g. Diaphoretic, antipyretic, diuretic,emmenagogue, anodyne

Organ affinity

E.g. Nervine, nephretic/nephrotic, pectoral,stomachic, cardiac


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The relationship between tissue states can be

quite specific

Specific tastes and temperatures can bespoken of in relation to specific tissue states

The basic therapeutic correlations (forphysiological patterns) are:


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Tissue State Taste Actions

Excited Sour Refrigerant

Sedative

Constricted Pungent/Acrid

Bitter

Relaxant

Antispasmodic

Relaxed Astringent Astringent

Atrophy Mucilaginous, oily

Sweet, Salty, Bitter

Mucilage

Tonics

Stagnation Bitter

Other flavours

Alterative

Detoxifying

Aperients/laxative

Depression Aromatic, Spicy

Pungent, (pine oils)Fragrant bitters

Volatile oils

Stimulant

CarminativeAntiseptics


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Tissues States = and Greek/Tibb

Medicine The physiomedical tissue states and understanding of

energetics is little changed since the original premises setdown by the Ancients

The term `tissues is a more modern translation that is/was

suited to the paradigm of the day and a part of the greatresurgence led by people suck as Thomson, Cook, Coffin,Thurston, etc

The American traditions brought forth a renewedconfidence in the vitalistic appreciation of health

The similarities of the tissue states to Greek medicine.


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HEAT = exciting

COLD = Depression

DRY = Atrophy

Damp = Relaxing


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Tissue States

Pathologies of Tissues:

Heat

Wind Dry

Cold

Damp 1

Damp 2


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*Qualities of Humors*

Black Bile = Cold and Dry

Blood = Hot and Moist

Phlegm = Cold and Moist

Yellow Bile = Hot and Dry


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Too much Earth = melancholic

Too much Air = Sanguine

Too much Fire = Choleric

Too much Water = Phlegmatic


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Physiomedical libraries

Priest & Priest

Typify the Physiomedical approach

-- all physiomedical texts

Thurston, provides elaborate discussion of the

practitioners `duty to attend the vital force


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Physiomedical Framework

The framework has been associated with theEuropean Naturopathic theory

There are also the contributions and influences of

other medical systems such as iridology,homeopathy, mineral therapy, naturopathy,nutritional medicine, conventional medicine,pharmaceutical medicine, surgical, etc..

And cultural medicines, Chinese, Ayurvedic, etc


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What we need to appreciate is how the Americanknowledge spread from America toEngland/Europe and then back to America again.

Who took up this knowledge and used it torekindle an interest in the Western Vitalisttradition

And appreciate how this medical philosophy andpractice has developed into todays practice ofherbal medicine

Documents

Herbal Med1 Samuel Thomson 2015 16