HEADACHES IN DOMESTIC MEDICINE BY BUCHAN,WILLIAM

In this paper, we consider the chapter on headaches contained in Willi am Buchan's Domestic Medicine, a book that enjoyed great success durin g the second half of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteent h centuries, and belongs to the series of public education treatises t hat began with the publication of Avis all Peuple sur la Sante by Simo n Andre Tissot. In line with the ideals of the Enlightenment, Buchan's aim was to satisfy the needs of people who had no opportunity of cons ulting a physician by providing them with information about the sympto ms and treatment of the most common diseases. One of the distinguishin g characteristics of the book is the space dedicated to preventive med icine. In the chapter on headaches, as well as dealing extensively wit h their etiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics and treatment within the conceptual context of humoral medicine, the author also pr oposed a number of preventive measures that can still be considered fu lly acceptable today.