The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1410] From: Mr Alexander Grant (in Forres) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: (M(rs)? or M(iss)?) (Patient) / 24 May 1777 / (Incoming)
Letter from Alexander Grant concerning the case of an unnamed female patient, aged about 50, who suffers from a painful bilious complaint: 'the Inacurices of the case I hope youll forgive as I know nothing of medicine.' Two guinea notes were originally enclosed as payment.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 4 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
[Page 4]
Metadata
Field | Data |
---|---|
DOC ID | 1410 |
RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/506 |
Main Language | English |
Document Direction | Incoming |
Date | 24 May 1777 |
Annotation | None |
Type | Authorial original |
Enclosure(s) | Enclosure(s) mentioned, but missing |
Autopsy | No |
Recipe | No |
Regimen | No |
Letter of Introduction | No |
Case Note | No |
Summary | Letter from Alexander Grant concerning the case of an unnamed female patient, aged about 50, who suffers from a painful bilious complaint: 'the Inacurices of the case I hope youll forgive as I know nothing of medicine.' Two guinea notes were originally enclosed as payment. |
Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
---|---|---|
[Case ID:872] |
Case of an unnamed female patient who suffers from a painful bilious complaint and is being treated by Mr Alexander Grant. |
2 |
People linked to this document
Person ID | Role in document | Person |
---|---|---|
[PERS ID:1959] | Author | Mr Alexander Grant (in Forres) |
[PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
[PERS ID:1960] | Patient | (M(rs)? or M(iss)?) |
[PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
[PERS ID:1959] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mr Alexander Grant (in Forres) |
Places linked to this document
Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of Writing | Forres | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Normalized Text
1777
Subjoined is the Case of a person with the
manner of treatment since the illness in the best way
I can make it out the Inacurices of the case I hope
youll forgive as I know nothing of medicine & find
me your Directions & oppinion /Directed for me at
Forress/ by the first post –– Inclosed are ↑two↑ Guinea
Notes & am
your most obliged & most humble
Servant
A Woman of about 50 years of age was in October 1775
seized with a Bilious Complaint which was Removed at
that time & she enjoyed good health till February last when
her Disorder Recurred, with excruciating pains in her
stomach which lasted for severall hours notwithstanding
the application of various medicines both Externall & Internall
Vomits purgatives & other medicines were administrated
such as were thought proper to dislodge Bile, Acid or
Wind which were alternatly thought to be the cause of
this Violent pain, but upon the Discharge of all these
[Page 2]
some times the one some times the other, litle releif was
found & Recourse was had to opium which never failed
to ease the unsufferable distress; in the Intervalls of these
Violent attacks /which at first were every twenty four hours
beginning with a Coldness about both ankles which did
not extend above six Inches up the legs then the pain
seized the stomach & Continued to Incress till releived by a
gentle dose of opium/ The Jesuits Bark was given in
Diffrent modes which in the Course of some weeks removed the
attacks till every fourth day & the Bilious Complaint was
quite gone and tho this medicine was used with the Utmost
perseverance and the belly keept Regularly open with
laxatives particularly with Castor oil which she had
been accoustomed to take & which agreed best with her
yet her disorder began again to encrease Pills of
Assafetida were given musk was tryed without effect
& her great [abiation?] to laudinum prevented its being
given by the mouth so that her disease became almost
continued for some days. An injection of Assafetida
& laudinum was given in the hight of this Agony which
gave Instant ease & procured several hours sleep
& for the space of three weeks past has had no sort of
Releif but from these Injections which were given
once in 24 or 30 hours & now once in 12 & stools were
procured once a day & sometimes not so often either
with Rhubarb, Magnesia Castor Oil or a purgeing
[Page 3]
Glyster. For three days past she has been again seized
with bilious Vomitings which attack her once in the
24 hours and much about the same time Her stomach
is so very weak that litle sits upon it except
sago which from the beginning has been her princi¬
pall food & her drink spirits & water as fermented
liquors & when tryed Disagreed All along she
has had a spitting of white frothy saliva and
when sickness & vomiting seized her or was occa¬
sioned by Chamomile Tea the Discharge from
the stomach was a tough Ropie fliam
During her illness she has had regular
Returns of the discharge peculiar to the sex and
once so profuse that it was thought proper to stop
it with medicines for that purpose as she was
so very weak & low During her whole illness
she never had any Degree of fever
[Page 4]
✍ Grant Concerning
May 1777.
Vol. VII. p.
Diplomatic Text
1777
Subjoined is the Case of a person with the
manner of treatment since the illness in the best way
I can make it out the Inacurices of the case I hope
youll forgive as I know nothing of medicine & find
me your Directions & oppinion /Directed for me at
Forress/ by the first post –– Inclosed are ↑two↑ Guinea
Notes & am
your most obd & most humble
Servant
A Woman of about 50 years of age was in Octr 1775
seized with a Bilious Complaint which was Removed at
that time & she enjoyed good health till Febry last when
her Disorder Recurred, with excruciating pains in her
stomach which lasted for severall hours notwithstanding
the application of various medicines both Externall & Internall
Vomits purgatives & other medicines were administrated
such as were thought proper to dislodge Bile, Acid or
Wind which were alternatly thought to be the cause of
this Violent pain, but upon the Discharge of all these
[Page 2]
some times the one some times the other, litle releif was
found & Recourse was had to opium which never failed
to ease the unsufferable distress; in the Intervalls of these
Violent attacks /which at first were every twenty four hours
beginning with a Coldness about both ankles which did
not extend above six Inches up the legs then the pain
seized the stomach & Continued to Incress till releived by a
gentle dose of opium/ The Jesuits Bark was given in
Diffrent modes which in the Course of some weeks removed the
attacks till every fourth day & the Bilious Complaint was
quite gone and tho this medicine was used with the Utmost
perseverance and the belly keept Regularly open with
laxatives particularly with Castor oil which she had
been accoustomed to take & which agreed best with her
yet her disorder began again to encrease Pills of
Assafetida were given musk was tryed without effect
& her great [abiation?] to laudinum prevented its being
given by the mouth so that her disease became almost
continued for some days. An injection of Assafetida
& laudinum was given in the hight of this Agony which
gave Instant ease & procured several hours sleep
& for the space of three weeks past has had no sort of
Releif but from these Injections which were given
once in 24 or 30 hours & now once in 12 & stools were
procured once a day & sometimes not so often either
with Rhubarb, Magnesia Castor Oil or a purgeing
[Page 3]
Glyster. For three days past she has been again seized
with bilious Vomitings which attack her once in the
24 hours and much about the same time Her stomach
is so very weak that litle sits upon it except
sago which from the beginning has been her princi¬
pall food & her drink spirits & water as fermented
liquors & when tryed Disagreed All along she
has had a spitting of white frothy saliva and
when sickness & vomiting seized her or was occa¬
sioned by Chamomile Tea the Discharge from
the stomach was a tough Ropie fliam
During her illness she has had regular
Returns of the discharge peculiar to the sex and
once so profuse that it was thought proper to stop
it with medicines for that purpose as she was
so very weak & low During her whole illness
she never had any Degree of fever
[Page 4]
✍ Grant C.
May 1777.
Vol. VII. p.
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:1410]
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...