Page 361 - Bloedstollig en bloedingsneiging

‘Without doubt, it is a question of definition, whether medicine be or be not classified as a science. But definition in this instance is far from being devoid of practical significance. If medicine is classified as an art, in contradistinction to a science, the practitioner is encouraged to proceed with a clear conscience on superficial or empirical lines; if, on the other hand, he is acutely conscious of a responsibility to scientific spirit and scientific method, he will almost inevitably endeavor to clarify his conceptions and to proceed more systemati- cally in the accumulation of data, the framing of hypotheses, and the checking up of results.’
Abraham Flexner (1925)1
‘Increasing stress is being placed on the importance of the basic sciences. The importance of physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology and bacteriology to the development of clinical medicine is being realised. It is of some signifi- cance that in recent years the ultimate rewards in medicine, the Nobel Prizes, have been awarded for achievements in these basic sciences rather than for any contributions to personal or community medical care or to advances in medical thought and philosophy. The glamour of modern medicine is being placed in technical and laboratory work.’
John Fry (1966)2
‘[W]here science is the pursuit of universal truths, medicine revolves around knowledge of sick individuals, and as such requires an understanding of com- plex, concrete particularities, not abstract generalisations; where science is analytic, medicine is holistic and synthetic ... ’
Steve Sturdy (2011)3
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