cases, were not being emphasized as they were
by his predecessors, and there was a beginning of surgical
meddlesomeness reasserting itself.

It must not be thought, however, that it was only with the coarse
applications of surgery that Chauliac concerned himself. He was very
much interested in the surgical treatment of eye diseases and wrote a
monograph on cataract, in which he gathers what was known before his
time and discusses it in the light of his own experience. The writing of
such a book is not so surprising at this time if we recall that in the
preceding century the famous Pope John XXI, who had been a physician
before he became Pope, and under the name of Peter of Spain was looked
up to as one of the distinguished scientists of his time, had written a
book on eye diseases that has recently been the subject of much
attention.

Pope John had much to say of cataract, dividing it into traumatic and
spontaneous, and suggesting the needling of cataract, a gold needle
being used for the purpose. Chauliac's method of treating cataract was
by depression. His care in the selection of patients may be appreciated
from his treatment of John of Luxembourg, King of Bavaria, blind from
cataract, who consulted Chauliac in 1336 while on a visit to Avignon
with the King of France. Chauliac refused to operate, however, and put
off the King with dietary regulations.

In the chapter on John of Arcoli and Medieval Dentistry we call
attention to the fact that Chauliac discussed dental surgery briefly,
yet with such practical detail as to show very clearly how much more was
known about this specialty in his time than we have had any idea of
until recent years. He recognized the dentists as specialists, calls
them dentatores, but thinks that they should operate under the direction
of a physician--hence the physician should know much about teeth and
especially about their preservation. He enumerates instruments that
dentists should have and shows very clearly that the specialty had
reached a high state of development. A typical example of Chauliac's
common sense and dependence on observation and not tradition is to be
found in what he has to say with regard to methods of removing the teeth
without the use of extracting instruments. It is characteristic of his
method of dealing with traditional remedies, even though of long
standing, that he brushes them aside with some impatience if they have
not proved themselves in his experience.