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William Buchan

William Buchan (1729 – 25 February 1805) was a Scottish physician and author. He is best known for his work Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines. One of the first of its kind, Domestic Medicine was a medical text intended for lay persons by providing detailed descriptions of the causes and prevention of diseases. Buchan’s goal was one of “laying medicine more open to mankind.” It was one of the most popular and long lived books in Europe. There were over 80,000 copies in 19 different edition sold in Buchan’s life time and was translated into almost every major European language.

Early life and education

William Buchan was born in Ancrum, Roxburgshire in 1729. In his early academic years, he attended a local grammar school, but he had already taken a keen interest in medicine. Even at an early age with no formal training, he acted as one of the novice village physicians. However, due to pressure from his family, upon entering the University of Edinburgh in 1749, he was enrolled in the school of divinity. He soon shifted from his theological studies to studying mathematics and botany and then ultimately medicine. He completed his studies in Medicine in 1758 after approximately nine years at the University.

Career as a physician

Upon leaving the university, he started a small practice in rural Yorkshire before being appointed as a physician at the Foundling Hospital in Ackworth, Yorkshire in 1759.While at the Foundling Hospital, he worked heavily with children and in 1761 he wrote his first major work, his medical dissertation, On the Preservation of Infant Life. In his dissertation, he argued that far too large a number of infants die in Great Britain every year. However, there was little response to his work.

Shortly after, Buchan married a lady of the Dundas Clan previously one of the noblest clans of Scotland. Unfortunately, later that same year, Parliament stopped funding the Foundling Hospital, so Buchan moved and took up a practice in Sheffield from 1761 till 1766 when he returned to Edinburgh. While in Edinburgh, he ran his own practice and gave lectuers in Newtonianism and natural philosophy.

In 1769, William Buchan published his famous work Domestic Medicine. The first edition sold for only six shillings and experienced great success. In total, Domestic Medicine sold over 80,000 copies in 19 edition in almost every major European language. In 1772, William Buchan became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The following year, the Chair of the Institute of Medicine, John Gregory, passed away and Buchan announced his candidacy. Buchan failed to be elected and a few years later he moved to London where he practiced till his death on February 25, 1805. He was buried in the cloisters of Westiminster Abbey.

Works

Domestic Medicine

Published in 1769, Domestic Medicine experienced great success. It was one of the most popular and long lived books in Europe. There were over 80,000 copies in 19 different edition sold in Buchan’s life time and was translated into almost every major European language. It continued to be printed in Britain until 1846 and in the Americas until 1913. Catherine the Great, czar of Russia, was so impressed by the work, she sent Buchan a gold medal and personal letter.

The reason Domestic Medicine experienced such success because it was one of the first texts of its kind. Previous to Buchan’s work most medical texts were either more theoretical and written for learned persons or short manuals that were not descriptive enough to help diagnose illnesses. Buchan helped combine these two styles. Domestic Medicine was written in layman terms, so it reached a wider audience, but was also written with a high enough level describing the diseases and treatments people could actually concoct the remedies necessary. Only Samuel-Auguste Tissot’s Avis au peuple was of similar style (which Buchan acknowledged the influence in his writing of Domestic Medicine).

Buchan experienced wider exposure than Tissot because Buchan addressed new areas. First and foremost, Buchan addressed industrial diseases. This was the start of the industrial revolution and resounded with the lay people. Generally, these diseases and cures suffered from second-hand observations rather than more stringent clinical observation. However, they promised enough to garner support. Domestic Medicine also was one of the first texts to not only discuss potential cures to diseases, but strongly emphasize prevention. In fact, the first third of the text is dedicated how to prevent a number of diseases. Buchan also emphasized a strict regimen of hygiene and cleanliness. This was not just a good scrubbing but moral cleanliness. Buchan argued that immoral people were much more likely to develop an illness.

Even though, Domestic Medicine was ground-breaking in many areas, many of its theories were still grounded in humorism. Buchan was a strong advocate for letting nature take its course and resetting the patient. Like a large number of physicians at the time, Buchan was also a strong proponent of bloodletting and purging as cures. The belief being that if the body can eject the infections, the body will return to its natural point. Buchan also advocated for a maintenance of the non-naturals (air, meat and drink, sleeping and watching, exercise and quiet, evacuations and obstructions, and passions). Too much of one would result in an imbalance and make a person more likely to develop an illness.

Domestic Medicine was ground-breaking in many ways, but was still grounded in the prominent theory of the time.

Lethalbehemoth (talk) 15:10, 3 March 2017 (UTC)