Details - A treatise of the scurvy, in three parts containing an inquiry into the nature, causes, and cure, of that disease : together with a critical and chronological view of what has been published on the subject

A treatise of the scurvy, in three parts

Title

A treatise of the scurvy, in three parts containing an inquiry into the nature, causes, and cure, of that disease : together with a critical and chronological view of what has been published on the subject

Title Variants

Alternative: Lind on the scurvy

By

Lind, James, 1716-1794 , author

Millar, Andrew, 1705-1768 , bookseller
W. Sands, A. Murray And J. Cochran , printer

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

Edinburgh, Printed by Sands, Murray and Cochran, MDCCLIII [1753]

Notes

Page 157 misnumbered 175

Signatures: [a]⁴ b⁴ A-3L⁴

Dibner Library. Heralds of science (1980 edition), | 126

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