The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:928] Case Note / Regarding: Mr Andrew Ross (Patient) / 21 October 1774 / (Incoming)
Case note by James Fea on Andrew Ross, who had already consulted Cullen some years before. Ross suffers from wind in his stomach and bowels. Letter ID 927 is the covering note for this letter, which was delivered by George Paton.
- 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 | 928 |
RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/190b |
Main Language | English |
Document Direction | Incoming |
Date | 21 October 1774 |
Annotation | None |
Type | Authorial original |
Enclosure(s) | Enclosure(s) present |
Autopsy | No |
Recipe | No |
Regimen | No |
Letter of Introduction | No |
Case Note | No |
Summary | Case note by James Fea on Andrew Ross, who had already consulted Cullen some years before. Ross suffers from wind in his stomach and bowels. Letter ID 927 is the covering note for this letter, which was delivered by George Paton. |
Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
---|---|---|
[Case ID:139] |
Case of Mr Andrew Ross suffering from abdominal discomforts and interrupted sleep which eventually leave him delirious. Cullen considers it 'hypochondriasis'. |
5 |
People linked to this document
Person ID | Role in document | Person |
---|---|---|
[PERS ID:447] | Author | Mr James Fea (of Clestrain) |
[PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
[PERS ID:266] | Patient | Mr Andrew Ross |
[PERS ID:447] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr James Fea (of Clestrain) |
[PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
[PERS ID:446] | Other | Mr George Paton |
Places linked to this document
Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place of Writing | Kirkwall | Orkneys | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
At the Desire of Mr. Andrew Ross, who
Some years agoe Consulted you on his then State of
health; & who by your advice & Directions received
Great Benefitt --
The Nature of his immediate Complaint, is what
he then in part Complained off, & what is now laid Be¬
fore you, for your further advice --
The above Gentleman is Going in the 73d. year
of his Age of a Plethoric habit, & who has for the Great¬
-est part of his life rather lived freely in his Diet,
&ca with the Comfortable Conveniences Annexed to his
Situation; But att times has been oblidged, to Exceed
/tho not from Inclination/ According as Casuall Occa¬
sions Might happen --
The only matter, which now Distresses him is a
Very Great Collection of wind in his Stomach & Bowells
which of late scarce Gives him Any respite, Being Come
to that height (↑Crisis↑) as to be Extreamly troublesome tho without
the Smallest Alarming or Dangerous Circumstance at¬
tending it. --
For Severall years last past, it was always
a Concomitant with Any other Ailment he was Subject
to or Laboured under, & has Gradually Come to the highth
before Described -- The Delicate attention Necessarily
paid to the DifferentDepartments of his offices, the Anxiety
of his Mind, the Multiplicity of Business &ca has no
Doubt Contributed Greatly towards fixing this Disorder.
For these years /before mentioned/ he has adopted
the most Regular plan in his Manner of living whether
in Diet or Exercise, & has been particularly attentive
[Page 2]
attentive in his Retireing to Rest att an early hour /viz
ten a Clock/ which Seemed to Agree well with him as he
Sleeped Sound, & with Ease, awoke with {illeg}Refreshment /The
Great Comforts of Old age/ Commonly att Six a Clock next
Morning; then Got up & took his Walk or Applyed to
Business Occasionally, -- But within This Some Months
past, altho he Goes to rest as Usuall, yet his Sleep is
Interrupted, & he Awakes Commonly att two or four in
the Morning in the most Distressfull State, with the
wind Accumulated in his Stomach, & Continues
Uneasy almost Beyond Description Untill the Load is
thrown off by Belching or otherwise --
This Continues Untill noon & for the remaining
part of the Day & Evening Seems Very Easy --
Having Described the nature of his Disorder
it is now necessary to Acquaint you with what has
been Done for his Releif --
As Sudden Changes of Diet, or Alterations in
the General way of life of any Patient /Especially
in Old Subjects/ may produce Very Bad Effects; so for
that reason the Greatest Caution has been taken to
wean nature from what she has been used to for¬
merly in this Gentleman's Case, & the most Simple Class
of Medicines Given which are herewith Subjoined /as to
Quantity in the Last part of this Case - As also the
Regimen juidged proper for him to follow --
As it Might be Suppossed there was Somewhat
Injurious to nature Contained in the Stomach which might
in Some measure Contribute towards keeping up
the Disorder -- For that reason he had a Gentle Vo¬
mitt of Camomile flowers Given him, which operated
pretty well --
[Page 3]
But upon Examining what he threw up there
Could be Nothing observed, which we Could juidge Might
Occasion any part of his Disorder --
He next had a Genttle purgative of the tincture
of Rhubarb, but without Any Effect, & att times
he Chews a piece of that root Until it Gives him
a motion Downwards & then leaves it off --
This was Deemed Innocent & Given with a Design
to Strenthen his Bowells --
Finding no Releif from the Before named
Applications, the Bark was ordered to the Quantity
of half a Dram twice a Day, but after the first
two or three Doses it purged ↑him↑ which made it be left
off for Some time Untill his Bowells were more able
to Bear this Exellent Medicine -- He takes it in Spe¬
cies, & with Great Confidence of its being of Service
to him -- Att the time of Writing this he has Begun
again & I hope will be able to persevere --
As to his Regimen --
As he has no fix't appetite /from thenature of
this Disorder/ but only random Cravings, he is
Indulged with a Bit of Mutton Chop in the forenoon
or any other time Between Mealls -- For Brakfast
a little wine with a toasted Biskett, with a Bit of fine
Suggar -- No Tea -- For Dinner, Mutton Broth /Scum¬
ed from the fatt/ Boiled Ditto Veal, Chicken, with all the
nourishing tribe of Young Animalls peculiar to this
Country; The smaller fishes, Such as haddocks, whit¬
ings &ca No Vegetables of Any kind -- None of
the hot Spices, nor any thing of that nature, only a little
white Mustard whichSeems (↑'d↑) to Agree very well with him --
[Page 4]
For Supper, for the most part the Same as for
Brakfast, or Sometimes any other light Nourish¬
ing food as Barley, Sago &ca Indulging himself af¬
ter his Dinner with three Glasses of red port wine
& for his Drink a little of the Same Diluted with
water -- Avoiding malt Liquor, or Small wines
as poison --
As I mentioned Exercise before I am oblidg¬
ed to Mention ↑also↑ with Regrett Our Inconstant Climate
But Especially its Sudden Changes for those nine
months last past, when in Generall he has been
Deprived of his Walk to his farm & which lies with¬
in a Small Distance of this Town --
This pleasurable & moderate Exercise
Occasioned by his tour thither made him Chearfu[l]
& Greatly strenthened his habit; And Contribut¬
ed greatly towards keeping, the Most Violent
Symtoms, of his Complaints att Bay --
And altho he makes the most
of his necessitous Confinment, by walking in his
Garden, in Town; Yet he's well Convinced theres no
Comparison in point of Effect --
Upon the whole I hope you'll be of Opini¬
on that there's nothing alarming in this Case
& Could the wind be prevented from Collecting
in his Stomach he would have few other Com¬
plaints -- His Confidence is Great from your
known juidgement /& from what he's already hap¬
pily Experienced/ which will therefore make him
rather impatient for An Answer --
Sir
with the most profound Esteem --
your humble Servant
To
Doctor Cullen
Edinburgh
Diplomatic Text
At the Desire of Mr. Andrew Ross, who
Some years agoe Consulted you on his then State of
health; & who by your advice & Directions received
Great Benefitt --
The Nature of his immediate Complaint, is what
he then in part Complained off, & what is now laid Be¬
fore you, for your further advice --
The above Gentleman is Going in the 73d. year
of his Age of a Plethoric habit, & who has for the Great¬
-est part of his life rather lived freely in his Diet,
&ca with the Comfortable Conveniences Annexed to his
Situation; But att times has been oblidged, to Exceed
/tho not from Inclination/ According as Casuall Occa¬
sions Might happen --
The only matter, wch. now Distresses him is a
Very Great Collection of wind in his Stomach & Bowells
wch. of late scarce Gives him Any respite, Being Come
to that height (↑Crisis↑) as to be Extreamly troublesome tho without
the Smallest Alarming or Dangerous Circumstance at¬
tending it. --
For Severall years last past, it was always
a Concomitant with Any other Ailmt. he was Subject
to or Laboured under, & has Gradually Come to the highth
before Described -- The Delicate attention Necessarily
paid to the Difft.Departmts. of his offices, the Anxiety
of his Mind, the Multiplicity of Business &ca has no
Doubt Contributed Greatly towards fixing this Disorder.
For these years /before mentioned/ he has adopted
the most Regular plan in his Manner of living whether
in Diet or Exercise, & has been particularly attentive
[Page 2]
attentive in his Retireing to Rest att an early hour /viz
ten a Clock/ wch. Seemed to Agree well with him as he
Sleeped Sound, & with Ease, awoke wt. {illeg}Refreshmt. /The
Great Comforts of Old age/ Commonly att Six a Clock next
Morning; then Got up & took his Walk or Applyed to
Business Occasionally, -- But within This Some Months
past, altho he Goes to rest as Usuall, yet his Sleep is
Interrupted, & he Awakes Commonly att two or four in
the Morning in the most Distressfull State, with the
wind Accumulated in his Stomach, & Continues
Uneasy almost Beyond Description Untill the Load is
thrown off by Belching or otherwise --
This Continues Untill noon & for the remaining
part of the Day & Evening Seems Very Easy --
Having Described the nature of his Disorder
it is now necessary to Acquaint you with what has
been Done for his Releif --
As Sudden Changes of Diet, or Alterations in
the General way of life of any Patient /Especially
in Old Subjects/ may produce Very Bad Effects; so for
that reason the Greatest Caution has been taken to
wean nature from what she has been used to for¬
merly in this Gentleman's Case, & the most Simple Class
of Medicines Given wch. are herewith Subjoined /as to
Quantity in the Last part of this Case - As also the
Regimen juidged proper for him to follow --
As it Might be Suppossed there was Somewhat
Injurious to nature Contained in the Stomach wch. might
in Some measure Contribute towards keeping up
the Disorder -- For that reason he had a Gentle Vo¬
mitt of Camomile flowers Given him, wch. operated
pretty well --
[Page 3]
But upon Examining what he threw up there
Could be Nothing observed, wch. we Could juidge Might
Occasion any part of his Disorder --
He next had a Genttle purgative of the tincture
of Rhubarb, but without Any Effect, & att times
he Chews a piece of that root Until it Gives him
a motion Downwards & then leaves it off --
This was Deemed Innocent & Given with a Design
to Strenthen his Bowells --
Finding no Releif from the Before named
Applications, the Bark was ordered to the Quantity
of half a Dram twice a Day, but after the first
two or three Doses it purged ↑him↑ wch. made it be left
off for Some time Untill his Bowells were more able
to Bear this Exellent Medicine -- He takes it in Spe¬
cies, & wt. Great Confidence of its being of Service
to him -- Att the time of Writing this he has Begun
again & I hope will be able to persevere --
As to his Regimen --
As he has no fix't appetite /from ye.nature of
this Disorder/ but only random Cravings, he is
Indulged wt. a Bit of Mutton Chop in the forenoon
or any other time Between Mealls -- For Brakfast
a little wine with a toasted Biskett, wt. a Bit of fine
Suggar -- No Tea -- For Dinner, Mutton Broth /Scum¬
ed from the fatt/ Boiled Do Veal, Chicken, wt. all the
nourishing tribe of Young Animalls peculiar to this
Country; The smaller fishes, Such as haddocks, whit¬
ings &ca No Vegetables of Any kind -- None of
ye. hot Spices, nor any thing of that nature, only a little
white Mustard wch.Seems (↑'d↑) to Agree very well wt. him --
[Page 4]
For Supper, for the most part the Same as for
Brakfast, or Sometimes any other light Nourish¬
ing food as Barley, Sago &ca Indulging himself af¬
ter his Dinner wt. three Glasses of red port wine
& for his Drink a little of the Same Diluted wt.
water -- Avoiding malt Liquor, or Small wines
as poison --
As I mentioned Exercise before I am oblidg¬
ed to Mention ↑also↑ with Regrett Our Inconstant Climate
But Especially its Sudden Changes for those nine
months last past, when in Generall he has been
Deprived of his Walk to his farm & wch. lies with¬
in a Small Distance of this Town --
This pleasurable & moderate Exercise
Occasioned by his tour thither made him Chearfu[l]
& Greatly strenthened his habit; And Contribut¬
ed greatly towards keeping, the Most Violent
Symtoms, of his Complaints att Bay --
And altho he makes the most
of his necessitous Confinmt., by walking in his
Garden, in Town; Yet he's well Convinced theres no
Comparison in point of Effect --
Upon the whole I hope you'll be of Opini¬
on that there's nothing alarming in this Case
& Could the wind be prevented from Collecting
in his Stomach he would have few other Com¬
plaints -- His Confidence is Great from your
known juidgemt. /& from what he's already hap¬
pily Experienced/ which will therefore make him
rather impatient for An Answer --
Sir
wt. ye. most profound Esteem --
your humble Servt.
To
Doctor Cullen
Edinburgh
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