Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/705

NAME LAWRENCE 683 LAWSON I an unusually brilliant prospect of entering upon a large practice at home so that he might return to Philadelphia for further scientific study. At that period the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania closed its doors in April and was not again opened until the following November. To offer advantages to those desiring to study during this vacation period, Lawrence opened a private school in which he gave a course on anatomy and sur- geo'- This course began in March, had a re- cess in August, and ended in November. He gave six lectures a week and these were dis- tinguished for the ease and perspicuity of their style and attracted many students. His school differed from the private courses in anatomy given by numerous practitioners at this time in that it was more systematically organized, and was open to the public, while the lessons given by others were more in the nature of instruction to private pupils. The school founded by Lawrence existed for many year3, and later became known as the Philadelphia School of Anatomy. In 187S this school was closed, but soon afterwards another school hearing the same name was opened by a for- mer teacher in the school, and was con- tinued until recent years. In the fall of 1818 Lawrence became assist- ant to Dr. Gibson, professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1822 he was also made assistant to Dr. Horner, then ad- junct professor of anatomy, and about the same time he was appointed surgeon to the Philadelphia Hospital. Although if Lawrence had lived, he would probably have established an extensive prac- tice in Philadelphia, his devotion to scientific teaching and study during the earlier years of his life left him little time to work at build- ing up a trade among the wealthy. While he was attending the poor, during an epidemic of typhus fever in 1823. he was stricken with a mortal illness, at that time being but thirty- two years old. In 1821 the "Academy of Medicine was formed for the development of scientific med- icine." Lawrence was an active member of this academy. He was diligent in scientific investigation, one of his chief pieces of work being the "Study of the Action of Veins as Absorbents." Dr. Chapman, professor of practice and physiology at the University of Pennsylvania, became interested in the views brought forward by Magendi, that the veins as well as the lymphatics served as absorbents. He himself disbelieved in the conclusions of Magendi, and at his suggestion a committee of the Academy of Medicine was appointed to make a study of the subject. He gave pecun- iary assistance to this committee, which con- sisted of Dr. Lawrence, Dr. Harlan and Dr. Coates. Over ninety experiments on living ani- mals were performed. Lawrence not satis- fied with this, in the following summer, to- gether with Dr, Coates, performed an addi- tional series of over one hundred experiments. He had begun a third series to determine the method of absorption in the brain, when his work was cut short by death. The results were published in the Philadelphia Journal of Medical and Physical Sciences, vol. iii, p. 273 ; vol. V, pp. 108 and 327, and they not only veri- fied but extended Magcndi's views. In New Orleans, Lawrence had exposed himself to yellow fever by making autopsies on putrid bodies. He investigated the subject still further in the epidemic of 1820, and left the most complete record of autopsies which had been made up to that time. He left over 3,000 pages of manuscript, much of it for use in a projected work on pathological anatomy, a subject at that time neglected in America. He died in Philadelphia in 1823. Charles R. Bardeen. Tnformatir>n from Prof. W. W. Keen. Hist, of the Philadelphia School of Anatomy, For Ohituarv Nntices. see Phila. Jour. Med. and Phys. Sci.', 1873. Dr. Coates. Eulogium, by Prof. Jackson, ibid. Lawson, Leonidas Merion (1812-1864) Leonidas IMcrion Lawson was born in Nich- olas County, Kentucky, September 10, 1812, a son of the Rev. Jeremiah Lawson, who had emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky in 1797 and had married Hannah Chancellor. Leoni- das received his early education in the school which afterwards became Augusta College and in 1830 began to study medicine, two years later receiving a license to practise in the first medical district of Ohio. He removed soon afterwards to Mason County, Kentucky, where he practised until 1837, graduating at Transyl- vania LIniversity, Lexington, Kentucky, in the spring of 1838. In 1841 he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, the following year founding the Western Lancet, and continuing as editor until 1855. In 1844 he began a reprint of Hope's "Pathological Anatom}-." During the same year he received a call to a chair in Transylvania University, and in 1845 spent several months in the hos- pitals of London and Paris. On his return he moved to Lexington, Kentucky. In 1847 Dr. Lawson was made professor of materia medica and general pathologj- in the