The Medicina Britannica was written by Thomas Short M.D. He was a writer of history and medical books. His first Medicina Britannica was published in 1746 (The Online). The third edition was published in 1751. The third edition is in good shape and readable. Medicina Britannica is a medical dictionary of herbal remedies to common illnesses of Great Britain in the late 1700s. It was most likely owned and used by Doctors and Apothecaries. The Medicina Britannica gives insight into the illness of the 1700s, the common medicinal plants of Great Britain, and ultimately the culture of the time.
The Medicina Britannica consists of a preface, plant entries, and an index. The preface is written by Mr. John Bartram of Pennsylvania, he talks about the …show more content…
So, even if the medicine may not work in the way it was intended, thus being quack medicine, Short still had a general grasp on what was good for humans. The medicine for the most part is not a true quack medicine, because the errors in the medicine were errors in understanding the properties of the plants and illnesses. Some of the plants have actual medicinal properties. However, there are a few exceptions, like Helleborus being listed as medicinal plant. Helleborus was used to treat many things, but notably its uses were lunacy, ageing of the skin, and “purge melancholy Humours” (Short 135-136). Now it is more known to be poisonous, due to it having glycosides (Helleborus). The “root fibers, is the only Part used” for medicine (Short 135) and that is the most poisonous part (Helleborus). So not only is Helleborus quack medicine, it is actually poisonous. The Medicina Britannica gives insight into the errors and accuracies of the usage of popular medicinal plants of Great …show more content…
It is also well written and clear on what it is talking about. The medicine on certain levels and cases is quack medicine, but the plants used to make the medicine actually do have medicinal properties. The index gives insight to the illnesses and lack of medicinal knowledge of the time. For instance witchcraft is not an illness and mad dog bites cannot be cured. It also shows that people were superstitious and believed in plants predicting the future weather of the summer. Other cultural knowledge that it gives is that people of the time actually cared about their appearances and that Great Britain 's influence on American medicine was strong with the importation of medical plants that are now considered invasive species. Overall, Medicina Britannica gives insight into the common troubles and worries of the
The Medicina Britannica consists of a preface, plant entries, and an index. The preface is written by Mr. John Bartram of Pennsylvania, he talks about the …show more content…
So, even if the medicine may not work in the way it was intended, thus being quack medicine, Short still had a general grasp on what was good for humans. The medicine for the most part is not a true quack medicine, because the errors in the medicine were errors in understanding the properties of the plants and illnesses. Some of the plants have actual medicinal properties. However, there are a few exceptions, like Helleborus being listed as medicinal plant. Helleborus was used to treat many things, but notably its uses were lunacy, ageing of the skin, and “purge melancholy Humours” (Short 135-136). Now it is more known to be poisonous, due to it having glycosides (Helleborus). The “root fibers, is the only Part used” for medicine (Short 135) and that is the most poisonous part (Helleborus). So not only is Helleborus quack medicine, it is actually poisonous. The Medicina Britannica gives insight into the errors and accuracies of the usage of popular medicinal plants of Great …show more content…
It is also well written and clear on what it is talking about. The medicine on certain levels and cases is quack medicine, but the plants used to make the medicine actually do have medicinal properties. The index gives insight to the illnesses and lack of medicinal knowledge of the time. For instance witchcraft is not an illness and mad dog bites cannot be cured. It also shows that people were superstitious and believed in plants predicting the future weather of the summer. Other cultural knowledge that it gives is that people of the time actually cared about their appearances and that Great Britain 's influence on American medicine was strong with the importation of medical plants that are now considered invasive species. Overall, Medicina Britannica gives insight into the common troubles and worries of the