George Man Burrows and the anguished birth of general practice.

“And it is the business of the judges (the Court of Assistants), so to construe the Act, as to suppress the mischief and advance the remedy.” Thus, quoting Judge Blackstone and with a characteristic flourish, did George Man Burrows conclude A Statement of Circumstances Connected with the Apothecaries’ Act, and its Administration. Published in 1817, this intriguing document provides insights into the history of general practice that resonate today. Burrows is now chiefly remembered as an expert on insanity. He has been strangely neglected for someone revered as the “father of general practice.” Why does he merit such claims? To what mischief does he refer, and what were his remedies? Rise of the surgeon-apothecary