The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:121] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Dr Alexander Stevenson (Professor; of Dalgairn ) / Regarding: Commissioner James Buchanan (Provost Buchanan; formerly of Drumpellier) (Patient) / 21 April 1781 / (Outgoing)
Reply [to Dr Alexander Stevenson at Glasgow] regarding Cullen's 'good old friend' Commissioner Buchanan's 'atonic gout' and his 'constitution broken by hæmorrhoidal discharges'. Cullen advises on medicines and encloses prescriptions. Poor machine copy.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
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[Page 2]
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 121 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/14/10 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 21 April 1781 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Machine copy |
| Enclosure(s) | Enclosure(s) present |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | Yes |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply [to Dr Alexander Stevenson at Glasgow] regarding Cullen's 'good old friend' Commissioner Buchanan's 'atonic gout' and his 'constitution broken by hæmorrhoidal discharges'. Cullen advises on medicines and encloses prescriptions. Poor machine copy. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1376] |
Case of Provost (Commissioner) Buchanan who suffers from weakness and whose gout is exacerbated 'by the popery mob'. |
5 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:563] | Addressee | Dr Alexander Stevenson (Professor; of Dalgairn ) |
| [PERS ID:84] | Patient | Commissioner James Buchanan (Provost Buchanan; formerly of Drumpellier) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:563] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr Alexander Stevenson (Professor; of Dalgairn ) |
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 | Glasgow | Glasgow and West | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Normalized Text
Concerning Commissioner Buchanan
I shall be very happy to contri¬
bute everything in my powers to restore my good old
friend Commissioner Buchanan.
I have no doubt about the nature of his disease
His constitution broken by hæmorrhoidal discharges and
{illeg} [I?] consider to be now in the state of atonic Gout or what
would formerly have been called Cachexy. You have em¬
ployed the remedies (↑medicines↑) best adapted to remedy this and I have
only to propose the employing the chalybeate alone that you
may employ it in larger quantity and I think you ↑[must?]↑ easily
forego all the bark he could take. For the chalybeate I
would employ I have given a formula on t'other page.
[I?] have only one other medicine to propose which ↑may↑ appear
to you singular but I have found it of singular service
both in gouty and hæmorrhoidal cases. It is to be dropped
on a little powdered sugar mixed a little with that by the
[Page 2]
back of a tea spoon then a little water poured on and
stirred a little it is to be immediately swallowed. The dose
at first may be forty drops but if it sits tolerably on the
stomach the dose may be gradually increased to sixty drops.
It commonly keeps the belly regular but if it does not you
↑must↑ have recourse to your Tinct. Rhei or Sal Rupellense tho
I suspect that this may be too cold for his bowels and I would
prefer the T. Rhei or Senn. comp. neither of which will
commonly quicken the pulse in such a case
I can find no room for any other medicines than
those mentioned but would earnestly advise what exercise
he can bear & think his diet both in meat & Wine should
be as full as his digestion & pulse will bear
I am at present in much hurry & have time to say no
more but that I am entirely Dear Dr Yours
1781
[Page 3]
For Commissioner Buchanan
Take ten grains ofprepared Steel Tincture and refined White Sugar, five grains of rubbed Cinnamon and two grains of rubbed Ginger Mix to make a powder and in this way make fourteen doses. Label: Strengthening Powders one to be taken in a little currant jelly twice a day washing down each with two teaspoonfulls of the Tincture of Bark in two table spoonfulls of water
Take two ounces of Copaiba Balsam. Label: Tonic Balsam forty drops to be taken on a little sugar every night at bedtime
1781
Diplomatic Text
C. Commissioner Buchanan
I shall be very happy to contri¬
bute everything in my powers to restore my good old
friend Comm[er.?] Buchanan.
I have no doubt about the nature of his disease
His constitution broken by hæmorrhoidal discharges and
{illeg} [I?] consider to be now in the state of atonic Gout or what
would formerly have been called Cachexy. You have em¬
ployed the remedies (↑medicines↑) best adapted to remedy this and I have
only to propose the employing the chalybeate alone that you
may employ it in larger quantity and I think you ↑[must?]↑ easily
forego all the bark he could take. For the chalybeate I
would employ I have given a formula on t'other page.
[I?] have only one other medicine to propose which ↑may↑ appear
to you singular but I have found it of singular service
both in gouty and hæmorrhoidal cases. It is to be dropped
on a little powdered sugar mixed a little with that by the
[Page 2]
back of a tea spoon then a little water poured on and
stirred a little it is to be immediately swallowed. The dose
at first may be forty drops but if it sits tolerably on the
stomach the dose may be gradually increased to sixty drops.
It commonly keeps the belly regular but if it does not you
↑must↑ have recourse to your Tinct. Rhei or Sal Rupellense tho
I suspect that this may be too cold for his bowels and I would
prefer the T. Rhei or Senn. comp. neither of which will
commonly quicken the pulse in such a case
I can find no room for any other medicines than
those mentioned but would earnestly advise what exercise
he can bear & think his diet both in meat & Wine should
be as full as his digestion & pulse will bear
I am at present in much hurry & have time to say no
more but that I am entirely Dr Dr Yours
1781
[Page 3]
For Commissioner Buchanan
℞ Tinctur. Mart. ppt.
Sacchar. alb. puriss. @ gr. x
Cinnamom. trit. gr. v.
Zingiber. trit. gr. ij
ℳ. f. pulvis et f. h. m. dos. № xiv
Sig. Strengthening Powders one to be taken in a
little currant jelly twice a day washing down
each with two teaspoonfulls of the Tincture of
Bark in two table spoonfulls of water
℞ Balsam. Copaib. ℥ij
Sig. Tonic Balsam forty drops to be taken on a
little sugar every night at bedtime
1781
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