DEP/DUA/1/42/12 (Transcript version)

Binny Craw

(1787-1788)

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N^o12. Binny Craw. at 21.

Resp. affect of this patient no room for doubt.

No hesit in assert. that all sympt to which is subj even headach & affect of vision as well as pain of stom & bowels, arise from those worms which disch.

And from even slightest insp no doubt that these joints of Taenia.

Each joint in one point of view to be consid as compl. anim.

For no doubt that each has mouth & viscer. pecul. to itself.

That each possess prop. tenac by which can fix itself either to intest or to any other soft subst. to which applied.

Yet as exist in alim canal of living anim. a great numb of joints taken togeth constit whole.

In so much that often extends to length of sever yards.

And has been alledged that to whole there is one common head.

This at least pos. asserted by Tyson, [Andys], Tulp. &e.

But on other hand denied by Linn after careful examin.

But whether common head or not little doubt that from each separ. joint, new anim. may be formd.

Hence when consider number of animals here collected & tenacul. which each possess, can readily under. diffic of remov.

For can be no doubt that of all intestin worms commonly occuring these expelld with greatest diffic.

Among Taenia however consid var. occurr.

In so much that to this species genus Linnaeus has referrd four species.

And although some of these more common intestin canal of other anim as dogs, cats & fishes, yet all at times in those of hum species.

Of these species two in partic, long disting as admit of cure with very diff degrees of facilit.

viz. first & third species Taenia solium & Taenia Lata.

First of these Taenia Solium from resemb. which each joint has to seed of a gourd has had name with some as Platenus of Vermis Cucurbitinum .

With others as Pallas of Taenia Cucurbitina.

And in English known by name of Gourd worm.

The second Taenia Lata has same name with Pallas as with Linn. is Taenia artic brevioribus of Bonnet.

And from this circum. though broad & flatt has more uniform & less indented app.

And hence from resemb. to slip of Tape has name of Tape worm.

These species Linn. disting by number & posit of mouths.

First he describ. as Taenia occulis marginalibus solitariis.

The last as Taenia osculis lateralibus solitarius.

By these marks must own have never for my own part been able to disting any falling under own observ

For only mouth I could ever discover in any of them small round orifice on margin.

In treatise however publ. in Fran respect remed of Mad Nouffer are And judging from resemb. to these have met with furnishd with plates by which the two easily disting.

And judging from resemb. to these have met with examples both of Taenia lata or tape Worm & Taenia Cucurbinita or gourd worm.

In former joints much shorter than latter & of much more unif. breadth.

Judging from this test no hesit in viewing worm of pres. patient as example of Taenia Solium or Cucurbit

And this accord to acct of almost all observ. much more diff. to remove than Taenia Lata.

In so much that some artic held forth as infallib cure for one very little influ on other.

Of the two as far as my observ goes Taenia Cucurbit the most comm.

Neither indeed in this country at least by any means so common as other intest. worms.

In so much indeed that know [sever] Physic in this City who have never had occas to treat single case of it.

In my own pract howevr have had occas to treat upwards of dozen.

A circum prob in part conseq of my having succeeded with first pat. had occas to treat a woman subj to the disease for thirty years.

Of her affect & of treatm to which yeilded will find a partic acct in vol of med cases publ. some years ago.

Some of other cases have [resistd] use of all remed I could think of or at least that patients would take

For after med operating [illegible] has faild, often not easy to persuade patient to farther attempts to cure.

And this acknowl. has been case with some inst. of Taenia which have had under care.

But in greater part expuls. has at length taken place not only of large fragm but of compl. worm.

Of this have in gener. cert. proof by disch of filum or thread in which the worm termin.

And which always last part to come away.

From this may be way observe that it app. in some cases more than one chain of Taenia.

And that hence name of Solit worm, not unfreq applied to this animal is ill founded

This then result of own observ & exper. with regard to Prognos.

If to judge from genus, still more from species of Taenia, should be doubt of cure.

But judging from former exper. hope may be able to accompl. it.

Partic if pat. by contin regul. attend. allows opport of trying [more] active med.

For must obs. that have not always succeeded by same remed.

In one had compl. success from first use of Fern powder.

In anoth after what kept in shop had faild, by powder formd from fresh root compl. cure.

In third, after Fern powder fair trial without success, cured by Stan [illegible].

But of pract in this case reserv observat till afterwards