A Treatise of the Scurvy, in Three Parts
Containing an Inquiry into the Nature, Causes, and Cure, of that Disease

First published in 1753, this important treatise seeks to provide a thorough account of the nature, causes and treatment of scurvy.

James Lind (Author)

9781108069984, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 April 2014

478 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.7 cm, 0.6 kg

Born in Edinburgh, with family connections to the local medical profession, James Lind (1716–94) went on to spend nine years at sea as a surgeon for the Royal Navy. His service made him familiar with one of the most common and debilitating ailments of the eighteenth century. Scurvy posed a particular problem for Britain, an island nation seeking to assert itself overseas through its navy. The symptoms of the disease had been recognised for centuries, but the causes remained elusive. First published in 1753, Lind's treatise explores the topic thoroughly, weighing the evidence and presenting a theory of the disease's aetiology, suggesting methods of prevention and treatment, and also discussing previous work on the subject, including ancient texts. Lind provided the groundwork for later investigations, his research lending support to the later practice of including the juice of citrus fruit in a sailor's diet, even though vitamin deficiency was not yet understood.

Preface
Part I: 1. A critical history of the different accounts of this disease
2. Of its several divisions
3. Of the distinction commonly made into a land and sea scurvy
4. Of the scurvy being connate, hereditary, and infectious
Part II: 1. The true causes of the disease
2. The diagnostics, or signs
3. The prognostics
4. The prophylaxis
5. The cure of the disease, and its symptoms
6. The theory
7. Dissections
8. The nature of the symptoms
Part III: 1. Passages in ancient authors
2. Bibliotheca scorbutica
Appendix
Chronological index
Index.

Subject Areas: Pharmaceutical technology [TDCW]