Cider press, 17th century Wellcome M0009994

Devon colic was a condition that affected people in the English county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

during parts of the 17th and 18th centuries, before it was discovered to be

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, inferti ...

. The first written account of the colic comes from 1655. Symptoms began with severe

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than ...

s and the condition was occasionally fatal.

Cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

is a traditional drink of Devonians, and the connection between the colic and cider drinking had been observed for many years. The condition was commonly attributed to the

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

of the beverage. William Musgrave's publication ''De arthritide symptomatica'' (2nd edn, 1715) included the first scientific description of "Devonshire colic" – it was later referred to by

John Huxham John Huxham (1692–1768) was an English physician, a provincial doctor notable for his study of fevers. In 1750 Huxham published his ''Essay on Fevers'' and in 1755 received the Copley Medal for his contribution to medicine. Biography Huxham ...

and Sir George Baker.Alick Cameron, ‘Musgrave, William (1655–1721)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Sept 2004 However, the precise cause was not discovered until the 1760s when Dr George Baker put forward the hypothesis that poisoning from

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

in cider was to blame. He observed that the symptoms of the colic were similar to those of lead poisoning. He pointed out that lead was used in the cider making process both as a component of the cider presses and in the form of

lead shot Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and less commonly from riot guns and grenade launchers, although shot shells ...

which was used to clean them. He also conducted chemical tests to demonstrate the presence of lead in Devon apple juice. The publication of his results met with some hostile reaction from cider manufacturers, keen to defend their product. Once Baker's conclusions became accepted and the elimination of lead from the cider presses was undertaken, the colic declined. By 1818, Baker's son reported that it was "hardly known to exist" in Devon.

Poitou colic

An illness with identical symptoms was described from

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

in western France in a work of 1616 by François Citois. It was known in English sources as Poitou colic. It was likewise demonstrated to be a form of lead poisoning in a 1757 publication by

Théodore Tronchin Théodore Tronchin (24 May 1709 – 30 November 1781) was a physician from the Republic of Geneva. Life A native of Geneva, he studied initially at the University of Cambridge, then transferred to the University of Leiden, where he was a pupil ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

.T. Tronchin, ''De colica Pictonum'' (Geneva, 1757
Online edition
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References

External links

Etched on Devon's Memory
- paper from Conference of Healthcare Librarians, 1996 {{Consumer food safety History of Devon Lead poisoning incidents 17th-century health disasters 18th-century health disasters 17th century in England 18th century in England History of forensic science Forensic toxicology Forensic pathology Deaths by poisoning Cider 17th century in Devon 18th century in Devon