cullen's emphasis on the importance of the nervous system was driven by the understanding that the nervous system controls the human body and therefore, "all diseases may, in some sense, be called affections of the nervous system, because, in almost every disease, the nerves are more or less hurt." although cullen's nosology did not last very long, cullen's influential teachings on medical knowledge and his attempt to systematize and generalize medical knowledge were integral parts of 18th century scottish enlightenment.