The principles and practice of medicine / by John Elliotson ; edited by Nathaniel Rogers and Alexander Cooper Lee.

Date:
1846
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The principles and practice of medicine / by John Elliotson ; edited by Nathaniel Rogers and Alexander Cooper Lee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    2G2 at all to be disputed. I certainly cannot but think that, till we have further facts, it is our duty in every case to supply lemon-juice, or similar things (if that cannot be obtained) ;—in the hope of doing away with the ill effects, which a want of fresh food occasions. I may also mention that, with regard to local applications, lemon-juice is found to be one of the best. When there is a scorbutic ulcer, I believe a slice of lemon laid upon it, is one of the best applications that can be employed. Pere Lebat is said to have mentioned this in his “ Voyage to the Antilles.” Nature of Scurvy.—This disease, I should say, is of a chemical nature,—if any one be so. In one sense, the constitution is not at all in fault. All the fluids and all the solids appear to be changed; but we have only to give a different chemical state to the body, and the disease is cured. We need give nothing which acts by a specific operation ;—no drug, I mean, which acts as a medicine; but we employ fresh articles of diet, and thus remedy the depraved constitution of the whole mass of solids and fluids.3 I have, therefore, mentioned this disease, before I came to any of those which are clearly seated in particular parts. I am not aware that it attacks any one part in particular. It seems to be a cachectic state of the whole frame; and if any affection be an instance of “ universal ” disease, I should cer- tainly say that it was scurvy. There is an affection very similar to the scurvy in some respects, which has been arranged and described, by Willan, among cutaneous diseases; and which is called “ purpura.” Some are of opinion that this is the same as scurvy; but I cannot think so;—for reasons which I will state when speaking of diseases of the skin. 3 Besides a great number of plants, of various kinds, which are to be met with upon the island [Juan Fernandes], but which we were not botanists enough either to describe or attend to, we found there all the vege- tables which are usually esteemed to be particularly adapted to the cure of those scorbutic disorders, which are contracted by salt diet and long voyages. For here we had great quantities of water-cresses and purslain, with excellent wild sorrel, and a vast profusion of turnips and Sicilian ra- dishes. The two last, having some resem- blance to each other, were confounded by our people under the name of “ turnips.” We usually preferred the tops of the turnips to the roots, which were often stringy; though some of them were free from that exception, and remarkably good. These vegetables, with the fish and flesh we found here, were not only extremely grateful to our palates (after the long course of salt diet which we had been confined to), but were likewise of the most salutary consequence to our sick, in recovering and invigorating them; and of no mean service to us who were well, in destroying the lurking seeds of the scurvy; from which, perhaps, none of us were totally exempt; and in refreshing and restoring us to our wonted strength and activity.—Anson’s “Voyage round the World.” Compiled by Richard Walter, M.A. Book 2; Chapter 1. (Smith’s “ Standard Library” Edition; Page 36.)