A Treatise of the Scurvy, in Three Parts

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.