Collection: Samuel Knox notes on lectures from the University of Pennsylvania

Scope and Contents

Samuel Knox’s 1783 abstract of Colin McKenzie’s lectures on midwifery in 1773 and his notes on Adam Kuhn’s lectures on materia medica and Benjamin Rush’s on chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 1784-1785.

Volume 1 contains Knox’s abstract of Colin McKenzie’s series of 19 lectures describing the history of midwifery, symptoms of pregnancy and labor, typical and atypical births, and postnatal care.

While a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Knox may have had access to some manuscript or printed version of these lectures. Volume 2 contains lectures (numbered 16 through 39) on materia medica delivered by Adam Kuhn at the University of Pennsylvania, probably in 1784. Subjects include: vegetable astringents, stimulants, opium, belladonna, and emetics. Volume also includes Benjamin Rush’s lectures on chemistry (numbered 1738 and a fragment of 16) which concluded on 11 January 1785. Subjects include: inflammables, metals, water, and fermentation.