Isaac Parrish

“ Otto for the services rendered the institution, instead of their being gratuitously offered, the duties could not have been more faithfully performed. In his treatment of the patients, he united tenderness with firmness, and a humane regard for their health and comfort, with that strict discipline so necessary to the good order of a large hospital. There was nothing rough or austere in his manners, and the poorest and most destitute often found, in their physician, a kind and sympathizing friend. ”

“ Unlike some of the veterans of our profession, whose dread of the spirit of innovation leads them to look with suspicion upon every thing new, he was open to the investigation of such novel facts and suggestions as are constantly presented in the advance of our science, and formed his conclusions of their value upon rational principles. ”

“ He possessed but little of that imaginative caste of mind which is often the accompaniment of a brilliant genius, which delights to roam in the regions of the unknown in search of undiscovered truths, and to strike out new paths of investigation. ”

“ Although warmly attached to the doctrines and forms of the Presbyterians, he was disposed to form his estimate of men more by their daily practice than by their opinions, and never indulged in denunciation against those who differed from him in religious belief. His own religion was eminently practical and vital. By it, his passions were kept in subordination, and his desires circumscribed. In trouble and in sickness, he was patient and uncomplaining; in health and prosperity, humble and thankful; and in all the situations of life, full of kindness and benevolence towards his fellow beings. ”

“ The efficacy of the mercurial practice, as applied to a large number of cases treated at the Hospital, some of them of a very severe and protracted character, is thus strongly set forth by Dr. Otto:—"The result of my experience is, that every form of chronic rheumatism, in almost every instance, is removed during the ptyalism, if it is carried to a considerable extent; that the exceptions are very few, indeed, where there is not permanent relief obtained; and that, in a vast majority of cases, a complete cure is effected, if the salivation has been continued actively three or four weeks. ”

“ In no department of medicine has modern inquiry been more successfully prosecuted than in the study of insanity; and to the humane mind of Dr. Otto, it must have been a source of peculiar pleasure to observe, that as he was passing from the stage of action, new light was breaking upon this obscure subject, and methods of treatment were instituted more consonant with reason and humanity than those which had prevailed in the earlier periods of his career.
Dr. Otto held the situation of Physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital during a period of twenty-two years. ”

“ The caste of his mind and the goodness of his heart, seemed to qualify him especially for the treatment of the insane, who, under the old regulations of the Hospital, were committed to the charge of the attending physician. He took a warm interest in the maladies of this deeply-afflicted class of patients, and devoted much time to the study and investigation of their diseases.
The vast improvements which modern science has introduced for the treatment of diseases of the mind, were heartily embraced by Dr. Otto ”

“ In the various public charities which distinguish Philadelphia—in every philanthropic enterprise—this class of physicians have been prominent actors. Not a few public institutions, now firmly established, and daily dispensing innumerable benefits to the sick and destitute, were either founded by them, or owe much of their present prosperity to their fostering care. ”

“ Otto not only for suggesting these remedies, but for establishing as a disease what has been falsely considered a mere filthy habit—often subjecting innocent children to punishment and mortification, when the true method of cure consisted in the use of appropriate medicines. ”

“ The importance of these measures, and their influence upon the health and tranquillity of the community during this dreaded period, will be long remembered, and were at the time gratefully appreciated, by the inhabitants of Philadelphia.
As a member of this institution, we can all bear testimony to the warmth of Dr. Otto's zeal in promoting its interests and prosperity. ”

“ The females of the family were exempt from the idiosyncrasy, but still were capable of transmitting it to their male children. After the use of various remedies, under the direction of the most skillful physicians, without success, during a period of many years, the sulphate of soda, in an ordinary purging dose, and repeated two or three days in succession, was found to be completely successful in arresting the discharge, and was afterwards constantly employed by the family, thus disarming this extraordinary and fearful malady of its terrors. ”

“ In the 9th vol. of the Eclectic Repertory, we find a short, but exceedingly valuable, paper on the cure of chronic rheumatism, in the form of a letter from Dr. Otto to J. D. Spragins, which appears to be an answer to certain inquiries of the latter gentleman, in reference to the Doctor's treatment of this disease in the Pennsylvania Hospital. ”

“ In mild cases, mercury was not advised, and the blisters and sarsaparilla mainly relied on. In regard to the use of blisters to the parts affected, Dr. Otto remarks: "So beneficial do these prove, that it often happens, as I pass through the wards of the Hospital, if blisters have not been directed, some rheumatic patient requests to have one applied." ”

“ This is, perhaps, mainly owing to diffidence of his own abilities, and partly to a want of that facility in writing which is often acquired by practice, and in which men of busy occupation are not prone to engage, without a strong motive or a natural inclination. ”

“ And again:—"Persons who have been crippled a year or two, and been entirely disabled from work, have been often restored by this remedy to their former usefulness."
I have been thus particular in stating the contents of this paper, from a belief that it has not received that consideration from the profession which its merits demand, and which the high authority of its author would seem to warrant ”