ADDENDA Object obscura: the ugly duchess


THIS oil painting by Quinten Massys, entitled An Old Woman (Te Ugly Duchess), is generally thought to be a comment about old women who go to great lengths to recapture their youth. But the renaissance work, which dates from around 1513, may have been painted with a different meaning in mind. Closer inspection reveals the subject suffers from Paget’s disease, according to Professor Michael Baum, cancer expert and keen art critic. Te sunken eyes, deformed hands, the unusual distance between her upper lip and nose, the distorted nostrils and other features are all consistent with the rare bone condition. Rather than a satirical comment piece, this painting may simply be a representation of a woman suffering from a particular disease.


From the archives: Crossword


the ‘treacly pot' NOTHING beats a good medical history when faced with diagnostic uncertainty. So proved the case on 20 July 1900 when a group of eight children presented at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow. All were suffering from a range of symptoms including jerky movements of the arms and legs, delirium and widely dilated pupils. Te doctor on call immediately suspected some form of poisoning and in questioning two of the children he found a common link. Tat day a gang of boys all age 10 and 11 along with some younger children had come across a pot near a stable that contained a sweet smelling liquid that resembled treacle. Tinking their luck was in all of them had a taste but found it wasn’t quite as nice as it smelled.


ACROSS 1. Rare but serious bacterial infection, often contracted through food (8)


4. Establishes treatment guidelines for NHS in England (abbr.) (4)


7. Dropsy (6)


8. Part of stomach attached to oesophagus (6)


10. Endocrine gland (7) 11. Muscular pain (5) 13. Male gonads (8) 15. Involuntary contraction (5)


16. Infection maintained within a population (7)


19. Faeces (6) 20. Catalyzing protein (6) 21. Helicopter service (abbr.) (4) 22. Conveying towards a centre (8)


See answers online at www.mddus.com. Go to the Notice Board page under News and Events.


22


DOWN 1. Study of morality in medicine (9)


2. Toy bear (5) 3. Between heaven and hell (5) 5. Native Americans (colloq.) (7) 6. Call off (6) 9. Adores (7)


12. Fantasy author and euthanasia campaigner, Terry (9)


13. Refreshment area (3,4) 14. Specimen (6) 17. Move to music (5) 18. Perhaps (5)


Investigations later involving the owner of the stable and a local vet revealed the pot contained an 'Electuary for Sore Troat' used to treat horses. It did indeed incorporate treacle but the main active ingredient was extract of belladonna – hence the dilated pupils. Tankfully the taste put the children off having more. One boy named William seemed the worst affected. His medical notes record: “Te patient was wildly delirious & struggled badly when held. Tere were convulsive movements of the legs & arms. Te face constantly twitched; and the eyes jerked from side to side. Te patient shouted incoherently: no words could be distinguished.


“Both pupils were widely dilated … Te face had a bright red flush, and the skin over the whole body was of a scarlet colour.” William’s stomach was washed out and he was given a chloral to quieten him but all the night and the next day he suffered hallucinations although he did not seem overly distressed. His doctor noted: “the delirium appeared to be of a pleasing character, for he frequently laughs”.


All the children made a full recovery and were back playing in the streets within a week.


Tis tale is one of many that can be found on the website of the Historic Hospital Admission Registers Project (HHARP) which brings together various hospital archives in London and Glasgow. In the HHARP database historians can access nearly 120,000 individual admission records between 1852 and 1914. Te website also features a collection of fascinating articles on the early history of the hospitals and their patients and staff. Go to http://hharp.org/


SUMMONS


PHOTOGRAPH: © THE NATIONAL GALLERY 2011


PHOTOGRAPH: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY


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