© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group, British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine, & Faculty of Accident & Emergency Medicine
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How the cholera epidemic of 1831 resulted in a new technique for fluid resuscitation
Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr B A Foëx, 21 Sunnybrow Road, Middleton, Manchester M24 4AD, UK;
bfoex@zen.co.uk
Accepted 19 September 2002
Keywords: cholera; fluid resuscitation; epidemic
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Cholera was a much feared disease as it spread across Europe in 18291830. The Lancet on the 19 November 1831 charted its progress and even published a fold out map of Europe to allow its readers to monitor its approach.1 The epidemic reached Sunderland in October 1831.
On the 3 December 1831 a Dr W B OShaughnessy delivered a lecture to the Westminster Medical Society on the "Blue epidemic cholera", as it was then known. As there was still no known "remote" cause of the disease, he considered it legitimate to look at the effects of the disease and to treat these instead. He had observed that, "universal stagnation of the venous system, and rapid cessation of the arterialisation of the blood, are the earliest, as well as the most characteristic effects."2 He then posed the question, "What is the best mode by which this artificial arterialisation can be effected
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