Francis Marion Pottenger

Symptoms of Visceral Disease: A Study of the Vegetative Nervous System in Its Relationship to Clinical Medicine

Dr. Francis Marion Pottenger Sr. explains the nature of ailments in the human internal organs, their signs and symptoms, and their affiliation and effects upon the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. A fascinating account of diseases manifesting in the human body, this book offers an account of the common illnesses and their effects. Beginning with an overview of the classification system Dr. Pottenger uses throughout the text, we are told how the body is to be segmented and analyzed part by part. We learn how the functioning of the nervous system is intricately linked with the body's organs, and how maladies afflicting each and any of these organs have various effects upon the nervous system. The musculature, such as the sphincter system and vasodermal system, is also examined. Crucially, we find appended over 100 charts, illustrations and sketches which demonstrate the biological workings which the author describes. The most important elements in the body, such as the vagus nerve, receive frequent reference as ailments peculiar to each organ are traversed in the narrative. First published in 1919 and revised in 1922, this superb text offers a historical insight on organ disease. Much of the data and facts are still relevant and crucial to modern medicine, and Dr. Pottenger enthusiastically explains and cites other studies by respected contemporaries in the field. This text reveals the immense progress medicine had made in understanding the workings of the nerves and organs, with a view to productive diagnosis and treatment of diseases, plus relief of symptoms. Francis M. Pottenger Sr. worked as a doctor for several decades. He established a sanatorium in Monrovia, California where he treated cases of tuberculosis. His son, Francis M. Pottenger Jr., also entered the medical profession, whereupon he conducted famous studies on the diet and bodily responses of cats.