578 THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



William Hunter. " Many years ago," lie says, " a gentleman came to me from tlie 

 eastern part of the city with his son, about eight or nine years old, to ask my advice 

 for him. The complaint was great pain in the stomach, frequent and violent 

 vomiting, great weakness, and wasting of flesh. I think I hardly ever saw a 

 human creature more emaciated or with a look more expressive of being near the 

 end of all the miseries of life. The disorder was of some months' standing, and 

 from the beginning to that time had been daily growing more desperate. He was 

 at school when first taken ill, and concealed his disorder for some time ; but grow- 

 ing much worse he was compelled to complain, and was brought home to be more 

 carefully attended. From his sickly look, his total loss of appetite, besides what he 

 said of the pain which he suffered, but especially from his vomiting up almost every- 

 thing which he swallowed, it was evident that his disorder was very serious. 



" Three of the most eminent physicians of the time attended him in succession, 

 and tried a variety of medicines without the least good. They had all, as 

 the father told me, after sufficient trial, given the patient up, having nothing 

 further to propose. The last prescription was a pill of solid opium, for in 

 the fluid state, though at first the opiate had stayed some time upon his stomach, 

 and brought a temporary relief, it failed at length, and, like food, drink, 

 and every medicine which had been given, was presently brought up again by 

 vomiting. The opiate pill was therefore given in hopes that it would elude 

 the expulsive efforts of the stomach. It did so for a time, but after a little 

 use, that likewise brought on vomiting. Then it was that his physician was 

 consulted for the last time, who said that he had nothing further to propose. 



"Though at first the boy professed that he could assign no cause for his 

 complaint, being strictly interrogated by his father if he had ever swallowed 

 anything that could hurt his stomach, or received any injury by a blow or 

 otherwise, he confessed that the usher in the school had grasped him by the 

 waistcoat at the pit of the stomach, in a peevish fit, and shaken him rudely, 

 for not having come up to the usher's expectation in a school exercise; that, 

 though it was not very painful at the time, the disorder came on soon after. 

 This account disposed the father to suspect that the rude grasp and shake 

 had hurt the stomach. With that idea he brought him to me, as an anatomist, 

 that an accurate examination might, if possible, discover the cause or nature 

 of the disorder. 



" He was stripped before the fire, and examined with attention in various 

 situations and postures, but no fulness, hardness, or tumour whatever could 

 be discovered ; on the contrary, he appeared everywhere like a skeleton covered 

 with a mere skin, and the abdomen was as flat, or rather as much drawn inwards, 

 as if it had not contained half the usual quantity of bowels. 



" Having received all the information I could expect, and reflected some little 

 time upon the case, I wished to speak with the father in another room, and, to 

 give my patient some employment as well as refreshment, asked him to take a little 

 milk in the meantime. But his father begged that taking anything into his 

 stomach might be put off till he got home, because he was certain that it would 

 make him sick. < Just before we set out,' said he, ' 1 gave him a little milk, but 



