Records of Harvey : in extracts from the journals of the Royal Hospital of St. Bartholomew / with notes, by James Paget.
- James Paget
- Date:
- 1846
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Records of Harvey : in extracts from the journals of the Royal Hospital of St. Bartholomew / with notes, by James Paget. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![of the hospital, which was formerly in use at the Lock in Southwark. There is no doubt that the Locks were destined chiefly for syphilitic patients, and it was for a long time a rule of the hospital that none such should be admitted into the wards; but this rule was probably never strictly complied with. It is evident, by the extract, dated October 18, 1550, that syphilitic patients were knowingly admitted into the hospital at that time. William Clowes, also, who was for many years surgeon to the hospital, speaks thus in his “ Briefe and necessary treatise touching the disease usually called Lues Venerea®.” “ I may speake boldly, bicause I speake truly; and yet I do speak it with greefe of minde, that in the Hospitall of Saint Bartholomew in London, there hath beene cured of this disease by me and three others, within five yeeres to the number of one thousand and more. I speak nothing of Saint Thomas Hospitall and other houses about the citie [alluding, probably, to the Lazar-houses] wherein an infinite multitude are daily cured. The Masters of the foresaid Hospitalls, being mooved with devotion and a Christian-like care towards tliese wicked and sinfull creatures are daily inforced to take in a number of these diseased people that otherwise would infect many good and honest persons : seeking with like care to restraine this greevous infection, and yet the number still increaseth. It happened very seldom in the Hospitall of Saint Bartholomew whilst I staid there ^ amongst every twentie so diseased that were taken into the said house, which was most commonly upon the Monday, ten of them were infected with Lues Venerea.” It was probably to put an end to this too free admission of such cases that Harvey’s peremptory rule was framed. It was afterwards strengthened by an order, that if any syphilitic ® P. 140 of tho edition of 1696. Astruc refers to this treatise, of which the first edition was published in 1575, as the earliest English work on sypliilis. The edition of 1500 is appended to Clowes’ more celebrated work, “ A profitable and neccssarie booko of observations for all those that are burned with the flame of gun-powder.”](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22371898_0050.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
