James Lind (1716-1794), first to perform a clinical trial.
An important lesson in physic is here to be learnt, viz., the wonderful and powerful influence of the passions of the mind on the state and disorders of the body. This is too often overlooked in the cure of diseases.
In the clinical trial, he sought to prove that a diet lacking citrus fruits was the cause of scurvy.
While he spoke of the possibility of the mind influencing the body’s state, it was John Haygarth (1740 – 1827) who first demonstrated the true existence of the placebo effect.
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