An essay on the venereal disease and its treatment : illustrated by numerous cases : intended to ascertain the effect of nitrous acid and other analogous remedies, lately proposed as substitutes for mercury / by William Blair.

  • Blair, William, 1766-1822.
Date:
1808
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the venereal disease and its treatment : illustrated by numerous cases : intended to ascertain the effect of nitrous acid and other analogous remedies, lately proposed as substitutes for mercury / by William Blair. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    genuine Syphilis appear: those patients who have not used mercury, or who may have employed it long ago, and had a relapse of their complaints, are the most unexceptionable for this purpose. We have been informed that 4 above an hundred bad cases stand attested as cured beyond all reason- able doubtbut, on impartially examining the evidence brought forward respecting them, there is ground to con- clude, that this declaration has not been verified by legi- timate examples. - - ‘ “ The hopes of experimenters are sanguine; the public mind continues in suspense ; the matter in question is of very great importance, and cannot soon be decided by the observations of an individual. For these reasons, it is pre- sumed, no umbrage will be given by this mode of soliciting gentlemen to employ the new medicines, in unequivocal cases: of' confirmed Syphilis ; and, if they do not wish to conceal the result of their experience from the world, to send such reports as they may please to communicate, either to the Editor of this Letter, at his own house; or (directed for him) to Mr. Callow, Bookseller, Crown Court, Wind- mill Street, near Golden Square; or to Mr. Cox, Book- seller, in St. Thomas’s Street, Borough/’' 1 have here reprinted the circular paper, in order to afford my readers au opportunity of remarking the grounds on which I judged the then existing facts to be insufficient to establish the credit of the nitrous acid, viz. because the cases adduced in its. support were not those of well-marked Hatches,. nodes, ulcerated fauces., and other characteristic marks of a genuine Syphilis, cut only cases of the early stacie of that disease. Whv then should a Physician in the west of England express his surprise, that Ci On the 16th of October 17975 I issued a paper, plainly condemning the new practice, notwithstanding my own experience was then very slight?” Suppose my opinion hail been wholly formed on the report of other persons’ experience, and that I had myself made no trials v\ hatever with the nitrous acid; still I might fairly have condemned the deductions, which appeared to be so weakly founded, by practitioners who only recited successful primary cases. It must be perfectly ob- vious to the most superficial observer of my circular paper* that the great point which I had in view, and urged as in- dispensably necessary to clear up all doubts respecting the 4 proposed