Cullen

The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

 

[ID:1301] From: Dr George Skene / To: [ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN] / Regarding: Mr Lumsden (Patient) / June 1776 / (Incoming)

Letter from George Skene concerning the case of Mr Lumsden. The addressee is likely to be Cullen.

Facsimile

There are 2 images for this document.

[Page 1]


 

[Page 2]


 
 

Metadata

FieldData
DOC ID 1301
RCPE Catalogue Number CUL/1/2/398
Main Language English
Document Direction Incoming
DateJune 1776
Annotation None
TypeAuthorial original
Enclosure(s) No enclosure(s)
Autopsy No
Recipe No
Regimen No
Letter of Introduction No
Case Note No
Summary Letter from George Skene concerning the case of Mr Lumsden. The addressee is likely to be Cullen.
Manuscript Incomplete? No
Evidence of Commercial Posting No

Case

Cases that this document belongs to:

Case ID Description Num Docs
[Case ID:741]
The Case of Mr Lumsden who has a long history of illness, including fever, nosebleeds and pains in the hypochondria, and who converses with Cullen over whether his condition is entirely 'nervous' or more 'fixed.
2


People linked to this document

Person IDRole in documentPerson
[PERS ID:64]AuthorDr George Skene
[PERS ID:933]PatientMr Lumsden
[PERS ID:64]Patient's Physician / Surgeon / ApothecaryDr George Skene

Places linked to this document

Role in document Specific Place Settlements / Areas Region Country Global Region Confidence
Place of Writing Aberdeen East Highlands Scotland Europe certain
Destination of Letter Edinburgh Edinburgh and East Scotland Europe inferred

Normalized Text

[Page 1]


Case of Mr Lumsden
June 1776 Vol. Vth ~ p95

Case of Mr Lumsden


About 3 years ago he had a bad and tedious fever
during which his Pulse was somewhat irregular and very
feeble, tho the fever from its other symptoms, could
not be strictly called either nervous or Putrid. {illeg}
He recovered by means of large evacuations by stool
procured by James's Powder. The great debility of
his pulse
seemed the only extraordinary circumstance
attending this fever, but I have since found that the
strength of it during his ordinary health bears no
proportion to his apparent strength in other respects
& when under any disorder both it & his spirits sink
to a considerable degree
.


His way of life is regular, he rises early and
tho his business confines him a good deal to the house
yet he takes a good deal of exercise chiefly in the
morning. He was many years subject to frequent &
copious bleedings at his nose, which for some time past
had left him, but in spring last he contracted a trou¬
blesom cough which continued long and in the Course
of it he spit up sometimes a little blood, but as it had
not much the appearance of proceeding from his Lungs &
was in very small quantity, Dr Livingston & I both concluded
it came from the fauces & regarded it little. For his



[Page 2]

Cough he got Sperm.Ceti. Juleps with [Syr. e Mezon?] but
the symptoms which distressed him most was a difficulty
of breathing
so considerable, that in the morning & fore¬
noon he could not walk the least distance without
panting and being attended obliged to stop some times
attended with a great degree of motion low down in the
Thorax like a palpitation. Along with this he had at first
a pain about the left hypochondrium, we blistered the
part and took some blood from him and after the
Cough left him suspecting that perhaps the disorder
might proceed from a nervous cause, I ordered him some
fœtid pills & Decoct. C. Per. & a good deal of exercise on horseback.
We were led into this opinion by the lax state of his habit & the
degree of dejection which he is subject to during any illness ↑&↑ from its
attacking him only in the forenoon when the stomach is emp¬
ty; for after dinner, especially if he drink a glass or
2 of wine, he is pretty well & can walk without much incon¬
venience, neither is he seized with it in bed nor affected by
[differ. of post.?] in lying. We advise him sometimes to try a pret¬
ty full breakfast or to take something in the forenoon in order to ob¬
serve whether the state of his stomach made any odds but he found
little or no benefit from this. Some days he is better & some
days worse without any known cause. Is losing flesh & his co¬
lor a great deal altered. Have proposed to him to lay aside bu¬
siness some weeks ago & go to country for exercise & amusement & as
he has a present an opportunity of being in Edinburgh your opinion &c
whether Nervous or owing to any more fixed cause.

June. 1776 Aberdeen
G. Skene

Diplomatic Text

[Page 1]


Case of Mr Lumsden
June 1776 Vol. Vth ~ p95

Case of Mr Lumsden


About 3 years ago he had a bad and tedious fever
during which his Pulse was somewhat irregular and very
feeble, tho the fever from its other symptoms, could
not be strictly called either nervous or Putrid. {illeg}
He recovered by means of large evacuations by stool
procured by James's Powder. The great debility of
his pulse
seemed the only extraordinary circumstance
attending this fever, but I have since found that the
strength of it during his ordinary health bears no
proportion to his apparent strength in other respects
& when under any disorder both it & his spirits sink
to a considerable degree
.


His way of life is regular, he rises early and
tho his business confines him a good deal to the house
yet he takes a good deal of exercise chiefly in the
morning. He was many years subject to frequent &
copious bleedings at his nose, which for some time past
had left him, but in spring last he contracted a trou¬
blesom cough which continued long and in the Course
of it he spit up sometimes a little blood, but as it had
not much the appearance of proceeding from his Lungs &
was in very small quantity, Dr Livingston & I both concluded
it came from the fauces & regarded it little. For his



[Page 2]

Cough he got Sperm.Ceti. Juleps with [Syr. e Mezon?] but
the symptoms wc distressed him most was a difficulty
of breathing
so considerable, that in the morning & fore¬
noon he could not walk the least distance without
panting and being attended obliged to stop some times
attended with a great degree of motion low down in the
Thorax like a palpitation. Along with this he had at first
a pain about the left hypochondrium, we blistered the
part and took some blood from him and after the
Cough left him suspecting that perhaps the disorder
might proceed from a nervous cause, I ordered him some
fœtid pills & Decoct. C. Per. & a good deal of exercise on h.back.
We were led into this opinion by the lax state of his habit & the
degree of dejection wc he is subject to during any illness ↑&↑ from its
attacking him only in the forenoon wn ye stomach is emp¬
ty; for after dinner, especially if he drink a glass or
2 of wine, he is pretty well & can walk without much incon¬
venience, neither is he seized w it in bed nor affected by
[differ. of post.?] in lying. We advise him sometimes to try a pret¬
ty full breakft. or to take someyg in ye forenoon in order to ob¬
serve wheth. ye state of his stom. made any odds but he found
little or no benefit from this. Some days he is better & some
days worse w out any known cause. Is losing flesh & his co¬
lor a great deal altered. Have proposed to him to lay aside bu¬
siness some weeks ago & go to country for exercise & amusemt & as
he has a present an opportunity of being in Edr. your opinion &c
whether Nervous or owing to any more fixed cause.

June. 1776 Aberdeen
G. Skene

XML

XML file not yet available.

Feedback

Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:1301]

Type
Comments
 

Please note that the Cullen Project team have now disbanded but your comments will be logged in our system and we will look at them one day...