The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[Case ID:787]: Case of Alexander Dirom, who has a urinary tract ailment.
Documents in this case
16 document(s) found in this case.
| DOC ID | Summary | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
[DOC ID:3233] |
Unsigned document written by patient, titled 'Case of a Gentleman of 62 years of age'. Almost certainly 'Mr Dirom', from the indexing annotation on the letter; 'Mr Fotheringham's friend' is scored out. The patient 'likes to play a good deal of golf in winter'. | September? 1787? | |||
|
[DOC ID:5540] |
Letter for 'Mr Fotheringham's friend' (identified in the index as Mr Dirom), Mr Fotheringham (one of the patient's in-laws) having communicated the case to him. Cullen considers that "Golf is a very wholesome exercise" for the patient. | 1 October 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3232] |
Letter by patient 'to Dr Cullen, made in answer to the Doctor's Queries'; evidence from other documents in the case suggests that the patient in question is Mr Dirom, in whose handwriting the letter is written. This may be the additional report to which Doc [ID:5548], dated 8 October 1787, is the response, so perhaps should be dated to early October 1787. | 5? October? 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5548] |
Reply for 'Mr Dirom', written in third-person on Cullen's behalf, in response to a report sent by Mr Dirom, who does not seem to be 'affected with any gravelish disorder'. | 8 October 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3265] |
Letter from Mr Dirom, written in the third person, giving more information on his case now that he has 'followed Dr. Cullens prescription for about 4 weeks'. | 8 November 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3266] |
Cover note enclosing a report by Mr Dirom on his own case (Doc [ID:3265]), giving compliments of Mr Fotheringham and signed by Frederick [Skene?] | 8 November 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5567] |
Reply for 'Mr. Dirom', to an unnamed medical practitioner, after receiving a report from the patient, dated 8 November. Cullen advises 'lying a bed for eight days together' while taking the prescriptions enclosed. | 22 November 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3272] |
Letter from Mr Dirom concerning his own case. He mentions the delay in Cullen receiving his last letter, delivered by Fotheringham. | 26 November 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5569] |
Reply 'For Mr. Dirom', possibly to his unnamed medical practitioner, in response to his changed symptoms, and enclosing a new prescription. | 29 November 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3280] |
Letter from Mr Dirom, concerning his own case. | 10 December 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5581] |
Reply 'For Mr Dirom', probably to his unnamed medical practitioner. Cullen refers to Dr Matthew Dobson's A medical Commentary on Fixed Air (2nd ed., 1785), which contains an appendix by Dr William Falconer, On the Use of the Solution of Fixed Alkaline Salts (cited also in Doc [ID:5533], part of Case 2170). He hopes that the book may be found in Aberdeen, and the apparatus required in either Banff or Aberdeen: if this is not the case, he asks to be informed by return of post. | 14 December 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:6278] |
Letter from Alexander Dirom, giving a prescription from his new doctor, which Cullen considers improper (Doc [ID:5589]). As he refers to his 'present Country doctor', and the handstamp is for Turriff, he seems to be writing from his country home at Muiresk, rather than his Banff town address. | 19 December 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5589] |
Reply 'For Mr. Dirom', probably to his 'country' practitioner. Cullen does not approve of his new doctor's advice, and is glad he does not know who he is. He hopes that he will be able to obtain by Aberdeen fly the apparatus required to make the alkaline mephitic water, and refers again to Falconer's appendix to Dobson on its use. | 24 December 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:3287] |
Letter from Mr Dirom, concerning his own case. He informs Cullen that he moved from his country home in Muiresk to Banff about ten days previously. He enquires whether the apparatus to make the mephitic alkaline water is the same as that used to make seltzer water: if so, there are several available in Banff. | 31 December 1787 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5592] |
Reply to 'Mr. Dirom', giving the directions to make alkaline mephitic water, possibly following Falconer's guidelines, and including brief dietary advice. | 4 January 1788 | |||
|
[DOC ID:5598] |
Reply, 'Mr Dirom'. Cullen's signature does not appear on the letter, nor his initials on the recipe. The patient died on the date on which this letter was written. | 21 January 1788 | |||
People involved in this case
9 found.
| PERS ID | Full Name |
|---|---|
| [PERS ID: 5911] | Dr |
| [PERS ID: 5913] | Dr |
| [PERS ID: 1] | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID: 5422] | Mr Alexander Dirom (of Muiresk) |
| [PERS ID: 5423] | Miss Katherine Dirom |
| [PERS ID: 469] | Dr Matthew Dobson |
| [PERS ID: 3494] | Dr William Falconer |
| [PERS ID: 5425] | Mr Fotheringham (Fothringham) |
| [PERS ID: 5437] | Mr Frederick Skene |
Unique Places linked to this Case
7 found.
| Type | Specific Place | Village/Town/City (aka) | Region | Country | Continent | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Banff (Bamf) | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Specific | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Place | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Aberdeen | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Aberdeenshire | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Specific | Muiresk House | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Place | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Places and role of place
13 found.
| Type | Role | Specific Place | Village/Town/City (aka) | Region | Country | Continent | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific | Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Place | Place of Writing | Banff (Bamf) | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Place of Writing | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Specific | Place of Writing | Muiresk House | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
| Place | Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Place | Destination of Letter | Banff (Bamf) | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Place | Destination of Letter | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Place | Mentioned / Other | Aberdeen | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Mentioned / Other | Banff (Bamf) | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Mentioned / Other | Aberdeenshire | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Specific | Mentioned / Other | Muiresk House | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Place | Place of Handstamp | Banff (Bamf) | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Place | Place of Handstamp | Turriff | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain |
