JOHN LOCKE IN 1684 DESCRIBES THE REMARKABLE RECOVERY OF A 6-YEAR-OLD DUTCH GIRL FROM A DREADFUL BURN OF THE SCALP

[摘要] While visiting the medical school at Leyden in 1684, John Locke (1632-1704), the celebrated English physician and philosopher, met Dr. Lucas Schacht (1634-1689) who showed him the remarkable case of a 6-year-old girl who had recovered after having lost about one third of her skull from a frightful burn.Locke wrote the following (his spelling has been retained): Frid. Nov. 17 [1684]. I was Sarah Vander Speck a girle about 6½ years old a great part of whose scul I had seen yesterday by Dr. Schafte [Schacht] who is professor magnificus, viz. 2 of occipitis and a great part of the 2 ossa bregmatis which togeather could not I think be lesse then ½ of the scull.The story in short is this. This girle when she was about 1½ old being left alone by the fire in her standing stoole fell down on the hearth and was found lying with her head neare the moderately smal turf fire at her mothers returne quite senselesse. She had lain there soe long that not only her head clothes and haire were burnt but the flesh of her head also and the bones of her scul which were afterwards taken out were burnt black on the out side, and retaine that colour still, the fire seemeing also by the appearance it has still to have penetrated the inside of the scul but not soe as to make it blak. The uper part also of one (I thinke her right) eare was burnt away. This accident happend on the 6th December.

[学科分类] 儿科学