Cullen

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

 

[ID:719] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Mr Andrew Liddell (Liddle) / Regarding: Miss Sinclair (of Southdun) (Patient) / 26 February 1783 / (Outgoing)

Reply to Andrew Liddell, regarding the ongoing illness of 'Miss Sinclair of Southdun' who has a chest complaint.

Facsimile

There are 3 images for this document.

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[Page 2]


 

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Metadata

FieldData
DOC ID 719
RCPE Catalogue Number CUL/1/1/15/206
Main Language English
Document Direction Outgoing
Date26 February 1783
Annotation None
TypeMachine copy
Enclosure(s) No enclosure(s)
Autopsy No
Recipe No
Regimen No
Letter of Introduction No
Case Note No
Summary Reply to Andrew Liddell, regarding the ongoing illness of 'Miss Sinclair of Southdun' who has a chest complaint.
Manuscript Incomplete? No
Evidence of Commercial Posting No

Case

Cases that this document belongs to:

Case ID Description Num Docs
[Case ID:744]
The Case of Miss Sinclair of Southdun who has a chest complaint.
2


People linked to this document

Person IDRole in documentPerson
[PERS ID:1]AuthorDr William Cullen (Professor Cullen)
[PERS ID:339]AddresseeMr Andrew Liddell (Liddle)
[PERS ID:2926]PatientMiss Sinclair (of Southdun)
[PERS ID:1]Patient's Physician / Surgeon / ApothecaryDr William Cullen (Professor Cullen)
[PERS ID:339]Patient's Physician / Surgeon / ApothecaryMr Andrew Liddell (Liddle)

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 Thurso North Highlands Scotland Europe inferred

Normalized Text

[Page 1]

Miss Sinclair of Southdun.

Dear Sir,


I make it a rule to dispatch the Consulta¬
tion to the Country as soon as I possibly can. I could
not Answer your last on saturday the day I received
it but I sent my Answer by the very next post on
Monday. It is now Wednesday when I have re¬
ceived yours of the 15. and send you this Answer
by the post that goes out to night. I believe your
experiment on the matter expectorated to be conclu¬
sive against its being of the purulent kind as
indeed I judged from your former account. This
admitted the only new circumstance you give me
in this letter is the brownish colour & acrid taste
that appears in an unusually copious expectoration
I take both circumstances to show some effusion
of blood but if this is not in very great quantity it
will not be dangerous & on the contrary may give
much relief I have known in more than one



[Page 2]

instance a copious expectoration entirely tinged with
blood give a termination to a Catarrah that was before
to a violent degree & nearly Peripneumonic. I hope
this shall prove to be the case with Miss Sinclair
& that before this letter can come to your hand &
unless it has proved Critical I am afraid in the
same time it has proved fatal. Upon the emergency
you mention the remedy I would have chiefly [tre¬
ted?] 1 to would have been a large Blister between
the
Shoulders & perhaps soon after a second put
upon the Breast. If it shall happen that Miss
Sinclair is still alive I shall expect that circum¬
stances have returned very nearly to the state you
described in your former letter & therefore that my
advice for their management my advice is already
before you & I cannot perceive that any exception
is to be made to what I have in my former letter
advised. I suppose however always that your dis¬


[Page 3]

cretion must be & I think it always may be for
{illeg} my measures to the state of particular
circumstances. I only say that small doses of the
Tartar Emetic may still be very proper though from
what happened on the 14th. Miss Sinclair after the
last dose Miss Sinclair may have taken some
prejudice against it. Besides this I imagine that
Blistering must still be a frequent remedy. While
the expectoration remains copious & free she
need not be much troubled with the Squills
& Assafœtida but in case of the Coughs becoming
very troublesome in the night time I would
wish you to get in to the use of Opiates. I have
thus answered you a letter with haste but still with
attention & Wishing you all success I am as always
sincerely


Yours &c.

William Cullen

Edinburgh
February 1783


[Mr?] Liddell

Notes:

1: Given the grammatical context the most obvious word here would be 'resort', but it is hard to reconcile this reading with what can be deciphered on the page.

Diplomatic Text

[Page 1]

Miss Sinclair of Southdun.

Dear Sir,


I make it a rule to dispatch the Consulta¬
tion to the Country as soon as I possibly can. I could
not Answer your last on saturday the day I received
it but I sent my Answer by the very next post on
Monday. It is now Wednesday when I have re¬
ceived yours of the 15. and send you this Answer
by the post that goes out to night. I believe your
experiment on the matter expectorated to be conclu¬
sive against its being of the purulent kind as
indeed I judged from your former account. This
admitted the only new circumstance you give me
in this letter is the brownish colour & acrid taste
that appears in an unusually copious expectoration
I take both circumstances to show some effusion
of blood but if this is not in very great quantity it
will not be dangerous & on the contrary may give
much relief I have known in more than one



[Page 2]

instance a copious expectoration entirely tinged with
blood give a termination to a Catarrah that was before
to a violent degree & nearly Peripneumonic. I hope
this shall prove to be the case with Miss Sinclair
& that before this letter can come to your hand &
unless it has proved Critical I am afraid in the
same time it has proved fatal. Upon the emergency
you mention the remedy I would have chiefly [tre¬
ted?] 1 to would have been a large Blister between
the
Shoulders & perhaps soon after a second put
upon the Breast. If it shall happen that Miss
Sinclair is still alive I shall expect that circum¬
stances have returned very nearly to the state you
described in your former letter & therefore that my
advice for their management my advice is already
before you & I cannot perceive that any exception
is to be made to what I have in my former letter
advised. I suppose however always that your dis¬


[Page 3]

cretion must be & I think it always may be for
{illeg} my measures to the state of particular
circumstances. I only say that small doses of the
Tartar Emetic may still be very proper though from
what happened on the 14th. Miss Sinclair after the
last dose Miss Sinclair may have taken some
prejudice against it. Besides this I imagine that
Blistering must still be a frequent remedy. While
the expectoration remains copious & free she
need not be much troubled with the Squills
& Assafœtida but in case of the Coughs becoming
very troublesome in the night time I would
wish you to get in to the use of Opiates. I have
thus answered you a letter with haste but still with
attention & Wishing you all success I am as always
sincerely


Yours &c.

William Cullen

Edinr.
Febry. 1783


[Mr?] Liddell

Notes:

1: Given the grammatical context the most obvious word here would be 'resort', but it is hard to reconcile this reading with what can be deciphered on the page.

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