The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1420] From: Robert Whyt (Whyte of Falkirk) / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Mr John Morison (Patient), Anonymous (Patient) / 16 June 1777 / (Incoming)
Letter from Robert Whyt(e) of Falkirk, concerning the case of John Morison, a poor widow's son, who lost his sight due to smallpox. He asks if Cullen may be able to help restore some sight, and refers to a similar case treated by an unnamed Edinburgh oculist. The letter was delivered by the child's mother.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 1420 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/515 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | 16 June 1777 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Authorial original |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Letter from Robert Whyt(e) of Falkirk, concerning the case of John Morison, a poor widow's son, who lost his sight due to smallpox. He asks if Cullen may be able to help restore some sight, and refers to a similar case treated by an unnamed Edinburgh oculist. The letter was delivered by the child's mother. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:569] |
Case of John Morison, who is blind due to smallpox. |
1 |
| [Case ID:2154] |
Case of an unnamed patient operated on for blindness after smallpox. |
1 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:2067] | Author | Robert Whyt (Whyte of Falkirk) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2063] | Patient | Mr John Morison |
| [PERS ID:2066] | Patient | |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2065] | Other Physician / Surgeon | |
| [PERS ID:2064] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mrs Morison |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Falkirk | Mid Scotland | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain | |
| Mentioned / Other | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
The Bearer hereof is a poor widow
woman whose oldest son lost his sight in the smallpox
She has been advised by some of the possibility of his
attaining the use of his eyes and hearing of your superi¬
or Character Begged me to write you. I have examined
the eyes often and imagine the fault to be in the Coats of
the Cornea which appear to have been thickened by the suppu¬
ration of the Pustules that have been there. I remember to
have seen a patient who had been blind from the same
cause which was removed by scratching the cornea with the
point of a Lancet so as to bring ↑on↑ a fresh suppuration and
when the inflammation was abated, was repeated several
times till the eye was tollerable clear. This was done by
one of the Occulists who was at Edinburgh some years ago
[Page 2]
How far it would be practicable with this patient I cannot say, but
shall leave to your superior Judgment. Your directing her to what
may be proper will be a great favour done to the widow who is but
in straitened circumstances and will add to the obligations already
conferred on ––––
Your obliged Humble Servant
1777
NB The Boy's name is John Morison
[Page 3]
Doctor William Cullen
Physician
Edinburgh
Concerning A boy blind from
the Small Pox ––––
Diplomatic Text
The Bearer hereof is a poor widow
woman whose oldest son lost his sight in the smallpox
She has been advised by some of the possibility of his
attaining the use of his eyes and hearing of your superi¬
or Character Begged me to write you. I have examined
the eyes often and imagine the fault to be in the Coats of
the Cornea which appear to have been thickened by the suppu¬
ration of the Pustules that have been there. I remember to
have seen a patient who had been blind from the same
cause which was removed by scratching the cornea with the
point of a Lancet so as to bring ↑on↑ a fresh suppuration and
when the inflammation was abated, was repeated several
times till the eye was tollerable clear. This was done by
one of the Occulists who was at Edinbr. some years ago
[Page 2]
How far it would be practicable with this patient I cannot say, but
shall leave to your superior Judgment. Your directing her to what
may be proper will be a great favour done to the widow who is but
in straitened circumstances and will add to the obligations already
conferred on ––––
Your obliged Huble Servt.
1777
NB The Boy's name is John Morison
[Page 3]
Doctor William Cullen
Physician
Edinbr.
C. A boy blind from
the Small Pox ––––
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:1420]
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...
