The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:1332] From: [AUTHOR UNKNOWN] / To: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / Regarding: Reverend Thomas Findlater (Minister at West Linton) (Patient) / May? 1778? / (Incoming)
Letter setting out the case of the Reverend Findlater, minister of Linton, whose complaints are related to his very convivial drinking habits.
- 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 | 1332 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/2/430 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Incoming |
| Date | May? 1778? |
| 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 setting out the case of the Reverend Findlater, minister of Linton, whose complaints are related to his very convivial drinking habits. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:798] |
Case of Reverend Findlater, minister of Linton whose complaints are related to his very convivial drinking habits. |
3 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Addressee | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:2201] | Patient | Reverend Thomas Findlater (Minister at West Linton) |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destination of Letter | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | inferred | |
| Mentioned / Other | Linton | Borders | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Case of Mr Findlater minister
of Linton
The Patient enjoyed a pretty
good constitution, & was capable of a great
deal of bodily exercise. At all times howe¬
ever, there seemed to be a particular irrita¬
bility in his system, particularly in his bowels
- a strait waistcoat or waistband , if he was
sitting & leaning forward writing; would at
any time raise a nausea & vertigo, which
went of ended in a Tenesmus, & was carried
of by a loose stool -- Sitting for any time
with wet feet used also allways to put his
stomach in disorder -- His general mode
of living was temperate, but even when living
in that style his appetite was irregular
sometimes very keen & at other times dull
--being apparently strong, & in general Joyous
in company, he had no excuse for declining
his glass, when over a bottle, & used to sit with
the last -- he used always next day after
a debauch to feel great langour & depression
of spirits, & breathed laboriously with heavy
sighs; he never had however any complaint
in his lungs -- His present complaint
began in July last - He had been for
several zears troubled with pains in the
Hip Joint, & went to sea bathing this spring
[Page 2]
for that complaint, after bathing for a week
he spent about a forthnight in visiting and
was exposed to much drinking - On going back
to the country, he lived quite sober but felt
a great degree of langour & depression which
allways increased; his sight grew dim; his
motions sluggish & heavy, he felt a numbness
over his body more particularly in the left
side, which made him apprehend a stroke
of the Palsey - he grew melancholy & dreary,
could not sleep at night, & felt, not a tingling
but a sort of heavy noise of distant wind in
his head. there was however no feeling of
pulsation in the temporal arteries to suggest
the apprehension of Appoplexy; At last
one night when lying in this uneasy sleep¬
less situation, all of a sudden a cold
sweat came over his body & instantly he
felt something give way about the heart
as if it had burst; he was Just at fainting
panted for breath, & felt himself in the ago¬
nies of death. When assistance came
his pulse was fluttering, so low as scarcely
to be felt & so quickly that it could not be
[numbered?] - on drinking about two thirds
of a bottle of port the pulse was raised &
brought to about 80 -- He was advised
to wear flannel & ↑use↑ riding & a full diet
which he hath done ever since - he has
allmost allways a feeling of pain about the
[Page 3]
heart; &a feeling of faintness & giving way
after comes upon him, with a palpitation
of the heart, which can sometimes be heard
& then the heart feels as if something touched
it, & he cannot in that case lye without
uneasiness on the left side; these feelings
are always releived by a chearfull glass
- He has had no return of sciatica
since this complaint seized him - When
he is seized with the faintness, he imme¬
diately has an inclination to stool &
urine like an animal knocked on the
head; his urine is generally pale &
overproportioned to his drink; & two or three
rather loose stools which are of a dark green
approaching to black -- on several occasions
after dinner he has felt a sort of fever arise
with uneasy heat, & a pulsation discernible
at the extremities of the toes & fingers, which
ended in a sweat, & then he was relieved
-sweating in general seems to do him
good
[Page 4]
Reverend M.r Findlater
December
N.A 1
Notes:
1: Unclear, but probably an abbreviation for 'Not Answered' or 'No Answer'.
Diplomatic Text
Case of Mr Findlater minister
of Linton
The Patient enjoyed a pretty
good constitution, & was capable of a great
deal of bodily exercise. At all times howe¬
ever, there seemed to be a particular irrita¬
bility in his system, particularly in his bowels
- a strait waistcoat or waistband , if he was
sitting & leaning forward writing; would at
any time raise a nausea & vertigo, which
went of ended in a Tenesmus, & was carried
of by a loose stool -- Sitting for any time
with wet feet used also allways to put his
stomach in disorder -- His general mode
of living was temperate, but even when living
in that style his appetite was irregular
sometimes very keen & at other times dull
--being apparently strong, & in general Joyous
in company, he had no excuse for declining
his glass, when over a bottle, & used to sit with
the last -- he used always next day after
a debauch to feel great langour & depression
of spirits, & breathed laboriously with heavy
sighs; he never had however any complaint
in his lungs -- His present complaint
began in July last - He had been for
several zears troubled with pains in the
Hip Joint, & went to sea bathing this spring
[Page 2]
for that complaint, after bathing for a week
he spent about a forthnight in visiting and
was exposed to much drinking - On going back
to the country, he lived quite sober but felt
a great degree of langour & depression which
allways increased; his sight grew dim; his
motions sluggish & heavy, he felt a numbness
over his body more particularly in the left
side, which made him apprehend a stroke
of the Palsey - he grew melancholy & dreary,
could not sleep at night, & felt, not a tingling
but a sort of heavy noise of distant wind in
his head. there was however no feeling of
pulsation in the temporal arteries to suggest
the apprehension of Appoplexy; At last
one night when lying in this uneasy sleep¬
less situation, all of a sudden a cold
sweat came over his body & instantly he
felt something give way about the heart
as if it had burst; he was Just at fainting
panted for breath, & felt himself in the ago¬
nies of death. When assistance came
his pulse was fluttering, so low as scarcely
to be felt & so quickly that it could not be
[numbered?] - on drinking about two thirds
of a bottle of port the pulse was raised &
brought to about 80 -- He was advised
to wear flannel & ↑use↑ riding & a full diet
which he hath done ever since - he has
allmost allways a feeling of pain about the
[Page 3]
heart; &a feeling of faintness & giving way
after comes upon him, with a palpitation
of the heart, which can sometimes be heard
& then the heart feels as if something touched
it, & he cannot in that case lye without
uneasiness on the left side; these feelings
are always releived by a chearfull glass
- He has had no return of sciatica
since this complaint seized him - When
he is seized with the faintness, he imme¬
diately has an inclination to stool &
urine like an animal knocked on the
head; his urine is generally pale &
overproportioned to his drink; & two or three
rather loose stools which are of a dark green
approaching to black -- on several occasions
after dinner he has felt a sort of fever arise
with uneasy heat, & a pulsation discernible
at the extremities of the toes & fingers, which
ended in a sweat, & then he was relieved
-sweating in general seems to do him
good
[Page 4]
Rev.d M.r Findlater
Decr.
N.A 1
Notes:
1: Unclear, but probably an abbreviation for 'Not Answered' or 'No Answer'.
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