Autobiography of Andrew T. Still

Andrew T. Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine, reveals how he matured into a medical pioneer from humble beginnings in the rural frontier of the United States.

Beginning with his upbringing in rural Missouri, we witness how Still became accustomed to practicality at a young age. At the time he was a boy in the 1840s, the area he and his family lived in was barely settled - many basic public amenities such as hospitals and schools simply did not exist. Still's father became the local doctor, and would introduce his son to the medicine. Food was also a concern, and Still was taught as a youngster how to hunt for meat with a flintlock musket - a weapon that took the greatest patience and discipline to handle. 

The outbreak of the American Civil War in the 1860s disrupted the young Still's apprenticeship in medicine and surgery, although he gained valuable experience treating sick and wounded soldiers as a hospital steward. During and after the war, Still was astonished at how ineffectual so many medical techniques were - this, coupled with researches and a further course in medicine, spurred him to create the science of osteopathy. 

In Still's day the drugs used by doctors carried many side effects. Throughout this biography he notes cases where patients were inadvertently killed by - or rendered addicted to - morphine, while quinine's severe side effects are likewise detailed. For Still such drugs were strictly the last recourse: instead, he placed faith in manipulation of the bones and musculature for a variety of ailments. 

Still experienced success in his methods and became a renowned doctor and surgeon. His osteopathic methods resulted in the alleviation of much suffering; through its use, many patient's vigor would be restored. Living to see Missouri grow and develop as a state, Still actively advanced the sciences by co-founding Baker University. To this day, he remains one of Missouri's most famous and respected individuals.