The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:3820] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) / Regarding: Mrs Blackstock (Patient) / 24 May 1776 / (Outgoing)
Reply to Dr John Gilchrist, 'for Mrs Blackstock', concerning how to treat her difficult case trying doses of Garlic or Mezereon.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 3 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
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Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 3820 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/7/41 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 24 May 1776 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Scribal copy ( includes Casebook Entry) |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply to Dr John Gilchrist, 'for Mrs Blackstock', concerning how to treat her difficult case trying doses of Garlic or Mezereon. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:174] |
Case of Mrs Blackstock who has various symptoms including painful legs and 'glandular' eruptions for which she has been given mercury. She is diagnosed as having 'dropsy' on the brain. |
4 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:115] | Addressee | Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) |
| [PERS ID:612] | Patient | Mrs Blackstock |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:115] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr John Gilchrist (of Speddoch) |
| [PERS ID:2350] | Other | Dr Alexander Russell |
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 | Dumfries | Borders | Scotland | Europe | inferred |
Normalized Text
For Mrs Blackstock
Desparate from the circumstances, & from its having resisted
so many judicious remedies. However must not desert.
Your first attempt with mercury, certainly judicious
the success of it makes me wish it had been Re¬
peated, & if any favourable [turn?] should happen
to Render it admissable [I?] I should be for
trying it still: However at present I think
we must attempt Relief by other Remedies
These only of the Diuretic Kind. I have a good
opinion of the Regenerated Tartar, & believe it
was the most useful {illeg}[em?] (ingredient) in your
Decoction, & as it was probably the bark
that was the disagreeable part of it, I think
you might have continued to use the
[Page 2]
Regenerated Tartar by itself; Still I leave that
measure to your discretion. I believe her stomach
will not bear the Sqills, but I see no objection
to trying the Colchicum, which seldom or never
gives any disturbance to the stomach, par¬
ticularly when Thrown in par surprise 1 ; That
is in small doses frequently Repeated. I have
frequently found Garlick a useful Diuretic
& it is not so stimulating to the system as its
acrimony in the mouth would lend us to believe
particularly where it can be swallowed in
[entire?] cloves. If she cant take it in this
shape you may try it in any other you
think her feverish state will allow of. I
have found it useful in a tincture drawn
with half water, half good dutch gin, or as
great a proportion of the last as the case
will bear Besides these Diuretics I Re¬
commend the decoction of the mezereon from
which I have had singular benefit. [but?] take
care to have it be [very?] good & fresh. We
are limited in its use by the heat it gives to
the stomach & have seldom found any patient
who could bear more than two drams [to the?]
bottle, but even when it feels hot on the Stomach
it hardly quickens the pulse, & I have
given it with advantage in cases where
there was fever. If you are not
aquainted I must Recommend you for the
preparation of it to Dr Russell in the London
[Page 3]
Medical observations. 2 I shall be happy to find
any of these hints useful to Mrs B, & if there
is [Room?] for further advice I shall be glad
to contribute all in my power
1776
Notes:
1: 'by surprise'. Cullen often talks of how individual stomachs react differently in particular patients.
2: See 'An Account of Some Experiments made with the Decoction of the Root of the Mezereon in Cases of Venereal Nodes by Alexander Russell M.D., F.R.S. and Physician to St Thomas's Hospital', in Medical Observations and Enquiries. By a Society of Physicians in London (London: five volumes, 1758-79), Vol.3, pp. 189-254.
Diplomatic Text
For Mrs Blackstock
Desparate from ye circumstances, & from its having resisted
so many judicious remedies. However must not desert.
Your first attempt wt mercury, certainly judicious
ye success of it makes me wish it had been Re¬
peated, & if any favourable [turn?] should happen
to Render it admissable [I?] I should be for
trying it still: However at present I think
we must attempt Relief by other Remedies
These only of ye Diuretic Kind. I have a good
opinion of ye Regenerated Tartar, & believe it
was ye most useful {illeg}[em?] (ingredient) in your
Decoction, & as it was probably ye bark
yt was ye disagreeable part of it, I think
you might have continued to use ye
[Page 2]
Regenerated Tartar by itself; Still I leave yt
measure to yr discretion. I believe her stomach
will not bear ye Sqills, but I see no objection
to trying ye Colchicum, wc seldom or never
gives any disturbance to ye stomach, par¬
ticularly when Thrown in par surprise 1 ; That
is in small doses frequently Repeated. I have
frequently found Garlick a useful Diuretic
& it is not so stimulating to ye system as its
acrimony in ye mouth would lend us to believe
particularly where it can be swallowed in
[entire?] cloves. If she cant take it in this
shape you may try it in any other you
think her feverish state will allow of. I
have found it useful in a tincture drawn
wt half water, half good dutch gin, or as
great a proportion of ye last as ye case
will bear Besides these Diuretics I Re¬
commend ye decoction of ye mezereon from
wc I have had singular benefit. [but?] take
care to have it be [very?] good & fresh. We
are limited in its use by ye heat it gives to
ye stomh & have seldom found any patient
who could bear more than two drams [to ye?]
bottle, but even wn it feels hot on ye Stomh
it hardly quickens ye pulse, & I have
given it wt advantage in cases where
there was fever. If you are not
aquainted I must Recommend you for ye
preparation of it to Dr Russell in ye London
[Page 3]
Medical observations. 2 I shall be happy to find
any of these hints useful to Mrs B, & if there
is [Room?] for further advice I shall be glad
to contribute all in my power
1776
Notes:
1: 'by surprise'. Cullen often talks of how individual stomachs react differently in particular patients.
2: See 'An Account of Some Experiments made with the Decoction of the Root of the Mezereon in Cases of Venereal Nodes by Alexander Russell M.D., F.R.S. and Physician to St Thomas's Hospital', in Medical Observations and Enquiries. By a Society of Physicians in London (London: five volumes, 1758-79), Vol.3, pp. 189-254.
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