Physicians and hereditary blood diseases at the end of the eighteenth century
Gélis, Jacques
Physicians and hereditary blood diseases at the end of the eighteenth century - 2019.
64
In 1788 and 1790, the Royal Society of Medicine organized a competition on the issue of hereditary diseases. The authors of the texts submitted for the competition had to characterize these diseases and propose solutions for eradicating them. Blood was often mentioned in these texts, especially when they focused on the relationship between the mother and the fetus, since the fetus could become contaminated by its mother’s blood. The idea of a dormant blood virus was common, especially syphilis, which was the most frightening because it was thought that it could remain hidden within the same family for a long time, skip several generations, and then resurface. To cure hereditary blood diseases, physicians recommended the monitoring of alliances, favoring contrasting but complementary body dispositions, avoiding the spread of bad blood through eugenicist selection measures and through the use of crossed alliances between nationals or those from different but complementary countries. The mixing of blood would make it possible to create “a child of the right middle ground,” between paternal and maternal “excesses.” These texts contributed to the emergence of French and European hereditarianism in the nineteenth century.
Physicians and hereditary blood diseases at the end of the eighteenth century - 2019.
64
In 1788 and 1790, the Royal Society of Medicine organized a competition on the issue of hereditary diseases. The authors of the texts submitted for the competition had to characterize these diseases and propose solutions for eradicating them. Blood was often mentioned in these texts, especially when they focused on the relationship between the mother and the fetus, since the fetus could become contaminated by its mother’s blood. The idea of a dormant blood virus was common, especially syphilis, which was the most frightening because it was thought that it could remain hidden within the same family for a long time, skip several generations, and then resurface. To cure hereditary blood diseases, physicians recommended the monitoring of alliances, favoring contrasting but complementary body dispositions, avoiding the spread of bad blood through eugenicist selection measures and through the use of crossed alliances between nationals or those from different but complementary countries. The mixing of blood would make it possible to create “a child of the right middle ground,” between paternal and maternal “excesses.” These texts contributed to the emergence of French and European hereditarianism in the nineteenth century.
Réseaux sociaux