Watkins’ medical school thesis, Jaborandi, from the New England Medical Gazette in April, 1876
Written Work by William Lane Watkins
Watkins’ medical school thesis, Jaborandi (detailing his study of a Brazilian herb by that name), was published as an article by the New England Medical Gazette in April, 1876.
The work consists of a review of existing medical literature on the herb, followed by the description of a homeopathic ‘proving’ conducted by Watkins himself, which involved taking regular doses of a diluted solution of the drug and monitoring himself for symptoms.
His writing is clear and straightforward, and demonstrates both his mastery of the topic and his interest in contributing to the medical literature. The publication of his thesis as a journal article was a mark of some distinction: the Gazette published theses from time to time, but his was the only one to be printed that year.
Full version of Jaborandi from Google Books is available here.