DEP/ABJ/4/2/1 | Draft letter from John Abercrombie to Dr John Thomson | The letter concerns Thomson's work 'Observations on Varioloid Diseases'. Thomson had included a letter from Abercrombie in the book with remarks on it and Abercrombie goes through those remarks in the seven points in his letter. The points concern the number of cases of smallpox and varicella [chicken pox] Abercrombie had seen in Edinburgh, Scotland; the impact of vaccination on someone who had had smallpox; and the efficacy of vaccination. He mentions the work of his colleague Mr Bryce and the observations of Dr Van Swieten and Dr Heim. | 22 Dec 1819 |
DEP/ANO/33 | Index to a volume of papers, provenance unknown | The index may be from a bound volume of papers given to a medical society or similar. The list is 'Observations on Phrenitis Vera' by Walter Craufurd; 'Remarks on Ascites' by J Borland; 'Observations on Dyspepsia' by J Rogerson; 'On Hepatitis' by W Cochran; 'Some Observations on Acute Rheumatism' by Robert Sime; 'On Fluor Albus' by William Graham; 'Observations on Small-Pox' by James MacDonald; 'Considerations upon Palsy' by Thomas Addis Emmet; 'On Diabetes' by James Forster; 'On Catarrh' by Adam Mitchell; 'On Pleurisy' by John Barrow; 'On Phthisis Pulmonalis' by J Rutter; 'On Jaundice' by Mr Cassillis Shaw; 'On Cholera' by William Steedman; 'On Hydrothorax' by J Hamming; 'On Chin-cough' by J Towers; 'On Dysentery' by Samuel [Fitt?]; 'On Hypochondriasis' by J Laidlaw; 'On Puerperal Fever' by W Scott; and 'Observation on Menorrhagia' by J Towers. | 1784-1785 |
DEP/ANO/46 | Sketched colour illustrations of the human body and diseases, with related notes | Images include: heart, lung, kidney, stomach showing death from inebriation [James Churnside], stomach showing impact of suicide by arsenic [Mary Gooche], rope marks from a man who hung himself, cancerous tumours, amputated knee joint [James Robertson], various Royal Infirmary amputations, leg of a 'middle aged sailor who had suffered from bad provisions of water on a sea voyage'.
Most images have information on the rear as to their contents. There are further written descriptions which are not clearly associated with a particular image. The folder containing the images has what appears to be ['I N Watson, 51 Queen St'] written on it.
Also contains clippings of images from medical publications, a print map of Edinburgh, a traced map of Fife, sketches which appear to be of a court case ['The Hustings, Edinburgh, 1834'], a prescription for an unnamed patient, a print of 'Mr Liston's case' from the Edinburgh Medical Journal with 'Alex Watson' written on it, a poem, and sketches of 'vaccina 1821'. | 1821-1840s |
DEP/AUA/1 | Student notes of Adam Austin from clinical lectures of John Rutherford at the Royal Infirmary of... | The flyleaf is signed 'Dr Adam Austin 5th July 1759' and contains a note of a book lent in 1755. The volume starts with lists of books in folio, quarto and octavo, with place and year of publication and in some cases cost, and a list of manuscripts. The lists may be Austin's library. The library catalogue is followed by 'Rules to be observed by the Apprentices in regard to the Shop and Patients' which relate to the operation of a pharmacy, Mr Smyth and Dr Austin being named as those issuing prescriptions.
Dr Rutherford's clinical lectures start after the rules and give case studies for three patients, giving the patient's name, complaint and treatment. At p16 there is a new heading 'Clinical Lectures delivered in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by John Rutherford Professor of the Practice of Physic in the College of Edinburgh begun 1749' although this might indicate the year Rutherford started lecturing rather than when the notes were taken. These also include case studies. The dating here is unclear although some of the case studies include dates of admission to the Royal Infirmary. From p192 a letter from John Pringle has been copied into the volume on the case of Mrs Dowal, giving prescriptions and suggested treatment. On p206 an item from 'The Pennsylvanian Gazette' has been copied into the volume on inoculation against small pox. After this are other letters from James Bales (1758) and James Aikman (1762) interspersed with further case studies. At the end is a case of 'gravelish complaints' which includes a page headed 'Dr Austin's opinion in regard to Mr Elliot's Case'. There is an index at the rear giving the patient's name and condition.
There are also lectures on specific subjects rather than case studies. These are: inoculation, epilepsy, scrophula, venereal disease, scurvy, headache, ague and measles.
Throughout the volume it is not clear whether the first person used is Rutherford or Austin. Austin had started working at the Royal Infirmary by at least 1763 although many of the cases do pre-date that. There is also more than one hand used in the volume so authorship of specific parts is not clear. | 4 Jan 1753 - 7 Apr 1765 |
DEP/AWP/5/1/87 | 'Pathology - Laws of Contagion - Predisponent and Concurrent Causes of Fever' by William Pulteney... | On the front is a list of references 'Clark's Collection of Papers on the Establishment of Fever Wards at Newcastle or Observations on Fever Wards; Haygarth on Infection of Small Pox and Fever; Stokes on Contagion; Lectures on Contagion and Exanthemata; Johnson on Tropical Climates'. Draft copy. | 1820s-1850s |
DEP/AWP/5/5/1 | Journal of William Pulteney Alison | The diary gives an account of Alison's trip to Rouen, France, Paris, France, Geneva, Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland, Chamonix, France (where he failed to reach the summit of Mont Blanc), Milan, Italy, Pavia, Italy, Lake Como, Italy, Arth, Switzerland and the Rigi, Switzerland, Engelberg, Switzerland, Reichenbach, Switzerland, Berne, Switzerland, and Tours, France, amongst other places from August to November 1820. He records people he met, conversations, sites seen and hospitals visited. It also contains reminders to himself and an account he heard about smallpox at the front and financial accounts of the trip at the rear. Includes loose sheets with entries for 7 November, 9 November, 13 November and 17 November, giving details of visits to the Hospice de la Maternité, Les Enfants Malades and Val-de-Grâce in Paris, France and including some poetry on Oberhasli, Switzerland and the Tyrol, Switzerland (stored separately).The previous catalogue also indicates that the passport at AWP/5/5/6 was originally with this volume. | 1820 |
DEP/AWP/5/5/5 | Miscellaneous notes of William Pulteney Alison | The notebook was used to record a visit to the Smallpox and Fever Hospital in London, England August 1825 and a visit to a hospital in Paris, France from 13 to 26 August. After that he visited Foutainbleau, France, Clermont, France, Aix, France, Aosta, Italy, Zurich, Switzerland, Lucerne, Switzerland, Berne, Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland and others often visiting hospitals on the way. | 1825 |
DEP/AWP/6/28 | Supplement to the [London] Weekly Table to Mortality | From the collection of William Pulteney Alison. A circular letter had been sent by George Graham, Registrar General to Registrars of certain districts of the metropolis (London) in which the weekly returns reported deaths by smallpox of persons said to have been vaccinated. It asked for further details on the vaccinations in these cases. The supplement contains the 34 responses received which were then sent to Dr George Gregory, physician to the Small-pox Hospital, for his comments which are also included. | c1844 |
DEP/BEC/1 | The Physicians', Surgeons' and General Practitioners Visiting List, Diary, Almanack and Book of... | The volume was used by Edward Barnes to record the patient visits he made and whether they had paid. He had a system of symbols to indicate what the patient visit had entailed which he listed at the front of the diary. There was also space for general engagements; pages for obstetric and vaccination engagements; and memoranda pages used for expenses. This was found in an envelope with the diary at ANO/36 and may have been donated at the same time. | 1865 |
DEP/BOH/4/3 | 'Praelectiones Clinicae', by Herman Boerhaave | 'Lectores Clinicae etc H Boerhaave Volume III'.The headings are: 'De Inflammatione', 'Of the Small Pox' (in English), 'De Pleuritide', 'Febris Scarlatina' and 'De Dysenteria'. | c1735 |
DEP/BRO/1 | Student notes by unknown individual from lectures of John Brown on elements of medicine | Title as given on volume is 'Lectures on the Elements of Medicine by Dr John Brown'. Subtitled 'The Brunonian System 1785'. The section headings are: 'Method of Cure' (para 85); 'Of the Phlogistic Diathesis' (para 130); 'The Seat of Excitability', 'Of Predisposition', 'Of Different Menstruation', 'Of the Menorrhagia', 'Of the Epistaxis', 'Of the Haemorrhois', 'Of the Asthenic Disease of the Alimentary and Abdominal Viscera taken together', 'Of the Angina', 'Of the Scurvy', 'Of Hysteria', 'Of the Phthisis Senilis or Asthenic', 'Of the Cystirrhea', 'De Podagra validiorum', 'Of the asthma', 'Spasm', 'The Anasarea', 'The Colicodynia', 'The Dyspepsodynia', 'Podagra imbecillinum', 'The Hypochondriasis', 'The Hydrops', 'Epilepsy', 'In Paralysis', 'Apoplexy', 'Trismus', 'Tetanus', 'Of Intermittents', 'Dysentery', 'The Cholera gravior', 'Synochus', 'The Typhus simplicior', 'The Cynanche gangrenosa' and 'The confluent small pox'. It is not known who took the lecture notes. | 1785 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/79 | Account of an inoculation for small pox from the collection of William Cullen | Report that on 23 January 1771 the writer was informed by Mr Wilson that he had inoculated his two children for the small pox 'from a lad that had been sent on shore and put under his care from a tender in the road'. As a result the writer took a further seven children to be inoculated after the Dimsdale method but found the lad so changed that he doubted whether it was small pox. He inoculated anyway but the children did react as expected. One child was the daughter of William Donald. They are inoculated again and the three children who had had a reaction before did not get infected. Unsigned and undated. The report is unsigned but research by David Shuttleton of University of Glasgow, Scotland indicates that the author is Gavin Fullarton as he refers to the report in his letter at CUL/1/2/86. | Jan 1771 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/352 | Letter from James Owen Merry, Parliament Square to William Cullen | Case of Mr Buchanan. Admits his debt to Cullen's expertise and makes observations on 'disorders of the breast' and the increasing incidence of inoculation against small pox. | 12 Mar 1776 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/515 | Letter from Robert Whyt, Falkirk, Scotland to William Cullen | Case of John Morison, lost his sight through small pox. | 16 Jun 1777 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/593 | Letter from [Lady] M Rosebery, Bambough [Bamburgh] Castle to William Cullen | She asks advice on inoculation for her eldest child against small pox. | 27 Feb 1778 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/627 | Letter from John Haygarth, Chester, England to William Cullen | He has sent the manuscript copy of the inquiry [into small pox] to Cullen for his comments. He asks him to return the manuscript as he wants to consult Dr Fothergill of London, England, who is currently in Chester, England, about it. He also reports on the success of his society in the suppression of small pox and the introduction of general inoculation in Whitehaven, England. | 27 Jul 1778 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/693 | Letter from Robt [Robert] Wilson, Peasenhall, England to William Cullen | He asks for advice on whether to inoculate a child which is being breast-fed against small pox. | 27 Dec 1778 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/814 | Letter from J [John] Haygarth, Chester, England to William Cullen | He thanks Cullen for his kind remarks on his paper on variolous contagion. He took up Cullen's suggestions as to sources he should refer to as he had never read 'any account of the Plague, except [Thomas] Sydenham's and one or two still more imperfect than his'. He encloses alterations and additions to the Inquiry (into small pox) and asks for Cullen's comments. The alterations and additions are in four sets. The first and second, as Haygarth writes in his letter, 'more distinctly stated the chemical arguments' and relates to the mode of combination between variolous miasma and air. The third 'will ascertain...the limit where the small pox begins and ceases to be contagious in the open air' and the fourth contains the rules of prevention established by the Small Pox Society (see CUL/1/2/863/). | 11 Sep 1779 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/863 | Letter from J Haygarth, Chester to William Cullen, with papers and newspaper cuttings relating to... | This subseries contains a covering letter by John Haygarth, enclosing articles from the Chester newspapers. One article post-dates the covering letter and may have been sent later. | 1778-1780 |
DEP/CUL/1/2/863/3 | Rules of Prevention, from the collection of William Cullen | Four rules to be followed to prevent the spread of disease. Includes a statement from the Society for Promoting General Inoculation, at stated periods, and for Preventing the Natural Small Pox in Chester, England. This offered a financial reward to familes infected with small pox for observing the rules, allowing the Society's inspector to observe them and if their neighbours were not infected. | c1778 |