The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:374] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Dr John Stevenson (in Arbroath) / Regarding: Mr John Gardiner (Captain or Mr Gardner or Gairdner of (North) Tarry or Tarrie; John Gairdner, younger, of North Tarrie) (Patient) / 18 December 1775 / (Outgoing)
Reply 'For Mr [John] Gardiner of Torry' (usually Tarry or Tarrie), who came to Cullen with an ulcer of the lip suspected to be cancerous probably addressed to Dr John Stevenson in Arbroath. Cullen describes the various treatments he has tried, including mercury, arsenic, opiates and yellow basilicon, and mentions that a Dr Grant was consulted at the patient's request..
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- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 374 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/6/73 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 18 December 1775 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Scribal copy ( includes Casebook Entry) |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | Yes |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply 'For Mr [John] Gardiner of Torry' (usually Tarry or Tarrie), who came to Cullen with an ulcer of the lip suspected to be cancerous probably addressed to Dr John Stevenson in Arbroath. Cullen describes the various treatments he has tried, including mercury, arsenic, opiates and yellow basilicon, and mentions that a Dr Grant was consulted at the patient's request.. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:172] |
Case of Captain John Gardiner, who has an ulcerated lip. |
5 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:1476] | Addressee | Dr John Stevenson (in Arbroath) |
| [PERS ID:587] | Patient | Mr John Gardiner (Captain or Mr Gardner or Gairdner of (North) Tarry or Tarrie; John Gairdner, younger, of North Tarrie) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:1476] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr John Stevenson (in Arbroath) |
| [PERS ID:1473] | Other Physician / Surgeon | Dr Grant |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Destination of Letter | Arbroath | East Highlands | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Normalized Text
For MrGardiner of Torry
MrGardiner came here with an Ulcer in his lip sus¬
pected to be (↑can↑)cerous, but as this was not certain we thought
proper to try what Mercury might have upon it & especially as
he would not think of the ↑more↑ certain remedy of extirpation.
The Mercury at first run much by his guts & was only
prevented from doing so by large quantities of Opiates. It at
length was brought to his mouth, but after a fair trial
had no effect on his lip. We then tried Arsenic without
effect. At his desire Dr Grant was consulted, who advised
Arsenic also but with some difference of management.
He was accordingly left to his care who tried Arsenic
for a long time, but the cure did not advance, on the
contrary his lip grew worse. We have now for a fort¬
night past tr applied a mild preparation Yellow Ba¬
silicon & his lip is now in a better condition than at
any time since he came to Edinburgh - As we propose to
continue this application & use a little internal medicine we
have advised him to go home as a better situation for
him than here – We will now give you our
Idea of the proper treatment always supposing that it
is to be varied upon occasion by your discretion &c
We would continue the Basilicon – and would have
him take every day ten grains of finely prepared
crude Antimony twice every day. If this quantity does not
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stomach the dose may be increased to twenty or thirty
grains of Antimony twice a day. These doses may
be washd down with two ounces of a watery Infusion
of bark made according to the ℞ below -- This
Infusion he may not only take every morning & evening with
every dose of the Antimony but also a third dose of it
before dinner. – With these medicines A milk diet, farina¬
cæa & fruits & a moderate quantity of beef tea or chicken
broth with bread may make a part of his dinner
every day – This diet we think best for his lip
but if in spite of all his lip should go on from
bad to worse & he longs for more nourishing
food he must be indulged in it & we trust
the conduct of it to your discretion -- For MrGardiner
Take 2 drachms of powdered Peruvian Bark. Rub thoroughly with a little liquor in a glass or marble mortar for half an hour, then add a pint of spring water and a drachm of crushed Orange Peel. Place back in the vessel and steep for 8 hours, and finally strain through paper. Label: Bark Infusion
Diplomatic Text
For MrGardiner of Torry
MrGardiner came here with an Ulcer in his lip sus¬
pected to be (↑can↑)cerous, but as this was not certain we thought
proper to try what Mercury might have upon it & especially as
he would not think of the ↑more↑ certain remedy of extirpation.
The Mercury at first run much by his guts & was only
prevented from doing so by large qties of Opiates. It at
length was brought to his mouth, but after a fair trial
had no effect on his lip. We then tried Arsenic without
effect. At his desire Dr Grant was consulted, who advised
Arsenic also but with some difference of management.
He was accordingly left to his care who tried Arsenic
for a long time, but the cure did not advance, on the
contrary his lip grew worse. We have now for a fort¬
night past tr applied a mild preparation Yellow Ba¬
silicon & his lip is now in a better condition than at
any time since he came to Edinb.r - As we propose to
cont this application & use a little internal medicine we
have advised him to go home as a better situation for
him than here – We will now give you our
Idea of the proper treatment always supposing that it
is to be varied upon occasion by your discretion &c
We would cont the Basilicon – and would have
him take every day ten grains of finely prepared
crude Antimony twice every day. If this qty does not
[Page 2]
stomach the dose may be increased to twenty or thirty
grains of Antimony twice a day. These doses may
be washd down with two ounces of a watery Infusion
of bark made according to the ℞ below -- This
Infusion he may not only take every morng & eveng with
every dose of the Ant. but also a third dose of it
before dinner. – With these med.s A milk diet, farina¬
cæa & fruits & a moderate qty of beef tea or chicken
broth with bread may make a part of his dinner
every day – This diet we think best for his lip
but if in spite of all his lip should go on from
bad to worse & he longs for more nourishing
food he must be indulged in it & we trust
the conduct of it to your discretion -- For MrGardiner
℞. Pulv. cort. Peruv. ʒii in mortario vitreo vel
marm. terito diligenter cum pauxillo liquæ. per horam
dimidiam dein adde -
Aq. font. @ lbi
Cort. aurant. cont. ʒi
Reponatur in Phiala et macera per h. 8. denique
per chartam cola Sign. Bark. Inf.
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