A scientific and popular view of the fever of Walcheren, and its consequences, as they appeared in the British troops returned from the late expedition ; with an account of the morbid anatomy of the body, and the efficacy of drastic purges and mercury in the treatment of this disease / By J.B. Davis, M.D.

  • Davis, J.B. (John Bunnell), 1780-1824.
Date:
1810
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A scientific and popular view of the fever of Walcheren, and its consequences, as they appeared in the British troops returned from the late expedition ; with an account of the morbid anatomy of the body, and the efficacy of drastic purges and mercury in the treatment of this disease / By J.B. Davis, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    were far different from those I have described. In the first were tar aiirerc intestines were preternatural y KlaCL bird Thev were at times so firm and altered m Mr TticZt so rLarkably thickened that they had mo re Semblance to leather or ligamentous bands_thani to S of t^ intestines. When they were cut *g appeared to possess different colours bemg reddishj^ ^ inner surface, yellowish in the middle, and of a■ P W pear their peritoneal covering. In consequence of the thick- Sg>eCeter of the intestine was materially drmi- 3d though not uniformly so in every part of it. The ■£>lonfrom the caput coli to the termination of its sigmoid flexm-e in the rectum, was frequently thickened m an irregular runnerthroughout its whole length The ^um had a similar appearance; on the inside of both these intes- tines there were red stripes which extended lengthwise or formed circles. Sometimes the villous coat was of a deep red colour throughout, at other times merely striped with red marks. Small red eminences or^ granulations appeared in clusters or singly in various parts of the bowels, rhese lxtte projections or tubercles passed insensibly from a red colour, to a yellow, brown or purple hue, all which shades were sometimes visible in the same group. It was common for these tubercles to surround the intestine, and to appear upon the red stripes I have mentioned. While these little bodies were observed in various stages of their progress in different parts of the colon and rectum, ulcers having the appearance of small chancres, were distinguished in others. The groups of tubercles were often interspersed with small scabrous ul- cers which -in fact seemed to be tubercles in a state of ul- ceration. I have sometimes seen the greater part of the colon and all the rectum covered with tubercles and scabrous ulcers, so as to give an ulcerated appearance to the whole inner surface of these bowels. The intestines were generally lined with purulent fluid, when this was the case, and •were sometimes of a purple colour throughout their entire extent. To be more particular, here and there on the in- flamed spots of the intestine, there were small eminences of the size of a pin's head or eminences of the magnitude of a grain of wheat, cut in halves, rougher at their apex, than their sides and bases; or small round bodies with an ulcer at their point, or little ragged ulcers excavated in the middle, resembling chancres; or one large, or a succession of small ulcers spreading wide upon and deep into the coats of the. intestine. The colour of these tubercles were various, and their consistence firm. While their points were yellow, their