An Observation Made by the Learned Dr. Sampson of a Man Anatomised, Whose Bowels Were Found Inverted

An Observation made by the Learned Dr. Sampson of a Man Anatomised, whose Bowels were found inverted. Mr. J. D. sometimes a Minister in Yorkshire, was troubled with a Cough, and other Mischiefs; for relief against which he took a journey to London, and that, for the most part, on Foot; he lived not above a fortnight after he came up. In his Sickness he was much addicted to drink Brandy, which hastened his Death. I opened his Body with the assistance of two other Physicians, Dr. C. L. and Dr. M. We observed his Limbs to be much macerated, his Belly was swelled with some inequality, especially, in the tract of the right Muscles: A considerable quantity of water was taken out of it; His Guts inflamed, and extended with wind; his Gall very viscid; his Lungs inflam'd, and beset with divers glanduls. But that which most of all surprised us, was the Inverted order of his Bowels: His Liver, which was very large, lay in the left Hypocondre, and his Spleen in the right; the Cone of his Heart was on the right side, and accordingly, the larger and thinner Verticle was found on the left; and the thick one, which in others is on the left side, was in him on the right. The great Artery defended on the right side, and the Vena Cava ascended by his Liver on the left. The Oesophagus descended to the first orifice of the stomach on the right side, which made the Pylorus and entrance of the Pancreas be on the left, and the first flexure of the small Guts to be towards the right: So that the beginning of the Colon with its appendicula, lay at the left Os ilion and the flexura Sigmoidea towards the right. Other things, that necessarily followed this site, need not be mentioned. It was not thought on to enquire, on which side the Lacteous Thoracic ductus ascended or where it ended; nor, on which side the recurrent Nerves took their places of returning about the trunks of the great Artery and the Axillary; nor had we time to do it. This Person was never observed in his life time to have any distemper, or usage, which might discover this inverted situation of his Bowels, nor had this Contraposition any evident influence fluence upon his Diseases and Death. He was about thirty years of Age, a married Man, had several Children, was of a middle stature, healthful till toward the latter end of his time: Had no Prominency on his left side, more than the other; was not left handed, nor had any Weakness on his left side. Diverse other things were observable as to his diseases, which are here omitted. So far this Observation; to which the Observer adds, that some like, tho' none so compleat, Instances of inverted Bowels are mentioned by the famous Bartholin in his Second Century of Observations, n. 29. from the Hand of Monsieur Patin A. 1650. at Paris; and from Seignor Pietro Servio A. 1643, at Rome: And that Schenikius mentions two others, l. 3. Obse. 9. de jecore; one found by Gemma, another by Aqua Pendente. An Account of the two Sorts of the Helmontian Laudanum, communicated to the Publisher by the Honourable Robert Boyle, together with the Way of the Noble Baron F. M. van Helmont (Son to the famous Johannes Baptista,) of preparing his Laudanum. As for the Helmontian Laudanum, you may use your own Liberty in suspecting the Receipts that go about of it. For the name itself seems ambiguous to me, who am well inform'd that there are two sorts of the Helmontian Laudanum; the one us'd by the elder Helmont, the other by his Son. The former was as a great Secret communicated to me by an expert Chymist, sent by a German Prince to Complement JohannesBaptistaVanHelmont, some of whose Manuscripts (one of which perish'd in the fire of London,) he procur'd together with a way of making his Laudanum, which having receiv'd from him fourteen or fifteen years ago, I carefully prepar'd, and thought my labour, so well recompensed by the extraordinary Operations it had, not so much in my Hands, as those of Learned Physitians and others, to whom I presented portions of it, that I should have thought the Chymist a Benefactor to Physic, if he would have made publick, or permit me to publish the way of making so successful a Medicine. And tho' the access to my Laboratory was so free to Ingenious Men,