Letter 1563

Posted on August 2, 2016 by -

James Keill to Hans Sloane – July 17, 1709


Item info

Date: July 17, 1709
Author: James Keill
Recipient: Hans Sloane

Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4042
Folio: ff. 14-15


Original Page


Transcription

Keill did not formally attend medical school, but through the patronage of Sloane he obtained the degree of MD from Cambridge. Sloane helped Keill enter into medical practice in Northampton (Anita Guerrini, Keill, James (16731719), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15255, accessed 2 June 2011]).



Patient Details

  • Patient info
    Name: N/A William Fermor, 1st Baron Leominster
    Gender:
    Age:61
  • Description

    Lord Leominster is still having difficulty breathing; his pulse has quickened.

  • Diagnosis

    Keill has long suspected that Lord Leominster has been suffering from an intermitting fever, as his fits always return to him at night. However, Leominster does not have the other symptoms of an intermitting fever, such as highly coloured urine or urine with sediment. As such, Keill thinks that Leominster may be suffering from a languid sort of fever,which would explain the pale urine. With a languid fever Keill would have expected Leominster to be faint and 'despirited', which he seldom is. Leominster suffers from difficulty breathing, and a large, quick pulse, especially during the night.

  • Treatment
    Previous Treatment:
    Ongoing Treatment:

    In response to Leominster's larger, quick pulse, Keill drew eight ounces of blood. He also ordered a purge.


    Response:

    Bleeding seems to normalize Leominster's pulse. Keill will inform Sloane if the bleeding and purging work.

  • More information
  • Medical problem reference
    Lungs, Pulse