Collection includes photographs, brief biographies and some correspondence of 105 prominent osteopaths, all submitted in 1918 apparently as the result of a circular written request by Dr. George A. Still, a trustee of the American School of Osteopathy, Kirksville, Missouri, and a great-nephew of the founder of that institution, Dr. A.T. Still.
Other material (dating from 1887 to 1941) includes journals, college announcements and catalogs published by schools of osteopathy and other publishers. These contain professional articles and list college curriculums in osteopathy. Textbooks on osteopathy, miscellaneous photographs and newspaper clippings are also included.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Historical:
Osteopathy is an independent school of medicine based on the theory that there is unity between body structure and function. Osteopaths (numbering about 12,000) are licensed to practice in all states and D.C., generally on the same basis as medical doctors. They are represented in the U.S. Public Health Service and other government medical services.
Osteopathic colleges (5 in number) require a 4 year course totaling 5,000 course hours of study with two years of basic science and two years of clinical training and advanced science. At least 3 years of college level pre-professional studies are required and a year long internship at one of 85 osteopathic hospitals follows formal studies. Osteopathic specialists are certified in 12 fields after further study.
Osteopathy emphasizes manipulation of the body in order to maintain the proper adjustment of the musculoskeletal system. However, osteopaths also employ drug therapy, surgery and radiation therapy.
Osteopathy originated as a medical reform movement initiated by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still in the Missouri Kansas frontier region in the late 1900s. Most osteopaths now are practicing in the U.S. and Canada. They are represented by state and provincial societies which combine to form the
American Osteopathic Association.
Biographical:
The "founder of osteopathy," Andrew Taylor Still, was born in Virginia in 1828, the son of Abraham Still, a Methodist minister who was also a doctor of medicine and whose four brothers were doctors. The family moved successively to Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas with the elder Still serving as a missionary and medical practitioner to Indian tribes. Andrew assisted his father in this work, gradually becoming dissatisfied with orthodox methods of medical practice of that time. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Against strong opposition of the medical profession and others he evolved the principles of osteopathy in 1892 founding together with a Scottish physician, Dr. William Smith, the American School of Osteopathy, the first such institution in the U.S., located in Kirksville, Missouri.
Dr. Still based his system of therapy on two premises: first, that the human body was self healing (i.e., it contains within itself all the medicinal chemicals necessary to the cure of disease); and, second, lesions of the spinal column are the principal causes of disease. Dr. Still continued his work until his death in Kirksville in 1917.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
