An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

SAPPINGTON, John S.

1 entries
  • 10446

The theory and treatment of fevers. Revised and corrected by Ferdinando Stith.

Arrow Rock, MO: Published by the Author, 1844.

The first medical treatise published in Missouri and the first medical treatise published west of the Mississippi River.

"John Sappington provided medical services, was a financial lender, and imported and exported goods to the Missouri area. He established two stores near Arrow Rock that sold goods, loaned money, processed salt, and milled lumber.[3] Once he had achieved financial success, Sappington was able to be more experimental with his medical practice. He focused his energy on the bark of the cinchona tree, the substance used to create quinine. Malariascarlet feveryellow fever, and influenza, were prominent along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Sappington developed a preventative pill using quinine that was soon in demand across the country. It was marketed as an anti-fever pill, but Sappington also instructed some of his relatives to take the pills to prevent malaria.[3] Most physicians were still treating malaria by bloodletting the patient and administering calomel.[1] Sappington’s pill to prevent malaria—and also used to cure malaria—was controversial due to its novelty and unfamiliarity.[4] The pill remained in high demand, however, and many other physicians began to develop their own anti-malaria pills after Sappington published the formula in his medical treatise, “Theory and Treatment of Fevers.”[5] He is often regarded as the first physician to successfully and effectively use quinine to treat malaria.[4] "(Wikipedia article on John Sappington, accessed 04-2018).

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.



Subjects: INFECTIOUS DISEASE › VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES › Mosquito-Borne Diseases › Malaria, PHARMACOLOGY › PHARMACEUTICALS › Botanic Sources of Single Component Drugs › Cinchona Bark, U.S.: CONTENT OF PUBLICATIONS BY STATE & TERRITORY › Missouri