Letter 1275

Posted on August 2, 2016 by -

Étienne François Geoffroy to Hans Sloane – January 20, 1706


Item info

Date: January 20, 1706
Author: Étienne François Geoffroy
Recipient: Hans Sloane

Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4040
Folio: ff. 114-115


Original Page


Transcription

Geoffroy received the books that Sloane sent him since the beginning of the war. He sends Sloane the Memoires de l’académie for the last several years. He mentions a number of debates among the member of the French Academie des sciences regarding the use of purgatives, the anatomy of the foetal heart, and the debate between de Moivre and Cheyne. Geoffroy has proposed a chemistry problem to the scientific community and tells of the experiments he has done that lead him to study iron in the ashes of various combustibles. He describes an experiment regarding the combustion of ethanol. He thanks Sloane for sending him editions of Philosophical Transactions. He was particularly impressed with Dr Cockburn’s discussion of purgation. Etienne Francois Geoffroy (1672-1731) was an apothecary and physician who studied at Montpellier, like Sloane, and worked at the Jardin du Roi and College Royal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etienne_Francois_Geoffroy).



Patient Details

  • Patient info
    Name: N/A Mathieu François Geoffroy
    Gender:
    Age:63
  • Description

    Geoffroy's father, Mathieu-Francois, has been suffering from dropsy for three years. He has a good appetite, good digestion, sleeps well, and has no tumour in the liver or spleen. He produces very little urine. The urine he does produce is thick and contains a red sediment.

  • Diagnosis

    Dropsy.

  • Treatment
    Previous Treatment:

    A variety of treatments were been tried for the dropsy as well as a number of diuretics for the urinary problems.


    Ongoing Treatment:

    For the dropsy he is drained every six weeks for a total of nine times to date. The first time, 36 pounds of water were drained and since then usually 24-26 pounds are drained. The water is transparent, a bit yellow, and thickens when heated.


    Response:

    The diuretics tried thus far have not had the desired effect and only heat the patient as well as sometimes causing him to spit blood. The operations have helped, but he urinates infrequently and there is a red sediment in it.

  • More information
  • Medical problem reference
    Kidney, Urinary, Hydropsy