Letter 1685

Posted on August 2, 2016 by -

James Keill to Hans Sloane – July 9, 1710


Item info

Date: July 9, 1710
Author: James Keill
Recipient: Hans Sloane

Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4042
Folio: ff. 151-152


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: Lord Lempster
    Gender:
    Age:
  • Description

    Keill is pleased that the treatment he outlined in his letter of June 22 was successful. He notes that Sloane thought 'the spitting of blood to be much more than it really was', and tells him that Lempster 'never spit pure blood'. Keill thinks the problem is the speed of Lempster's pulse and 'stoppage of the Blood' rather than 'an inflammation in the lungs'.

  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment
    Previous Treatment:

    On 'fryday last' Lempster came down with a cold and his symptoms returned, but without the spitting of blood. Lempster's pulse is faster than before and breathing is more painful.


    Ongoing Treatment:

    Keill had 'taken away a little more blood' as Sloane suggested. He 'blistered him and purged as before'.


    Response:

    Lempster is 'better' and Keill will 'wait on him' until he receives further instruction from Sloane.

  • More information
  • Medical problem reference
    Coughs, Colds, Lungs, Tuberculosis, Blood