An account of the last illness, decease, and post mortem appearances, of Napoleon Bonaparte / By Archibald Arnott ... To which is added a letter from Dr. Arnott to Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe ... giving a succinct statement of Napoleon Bonaparte's disease and demise.

  • Arnott, Archibald, 1771-1855.
Date:
1822
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the last illness, decease, and post mortem appearances, of Napoleon Bonaparte / By Archibald Arnott ... To which is added a letter from Dr. Arnott to Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe ... giving a succinct statement of Napoleon Bonaparte's disease and demise. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    On the 1 st of April I was requested to see him with Dr. Antomarchi; we did not prescribe for him that night, but visited him again next morn¬ ing. I found him in a state of great debility, but there were no febrile symptoms present; the pulse was 76 and regular; heat natural; skin moist; tongue white, and thirst inconsiderable. Complained of a gnawing pain in his stomach; bowels very slow, seldom an evacuation without the aid of lavements. At that time he had every symptom of dyspepsia, accompanied with more than ordinary dejection of spirits. Under all the circumstances of the case, we recommended purgatives as occasion should require, and at the same time some tonic medicine, with light nourishing diet; but, until the 6th of April, we could not prevail upon our patient to take any medicine, and then what he took was in so small a quantity, that it had little effect upon him. On the 7th of April he was again prevailed upon to take some more opening medicine, which operated well, he had some copious evacuations from it, and in consequence ex¬ perienced great relief. He took medicine on the 8th also, which relieved him; but after that we could not persuade him to persevere in the use of medicine as circumstances required.