John Groenveldt or Greenfield, M.D. (1647?-1710?), was a physician.

Education and early career

Groenveldt, born about 1647, was a native of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

in Holland. He was educated partly in Holland and then under Franciscus Zypæus (the younger) at

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, and in Paris. On 13 September 1667 he was entered as a medical student at

Leyden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with ...

, but graduated M.D. at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

on 18 March 1670. His thesis, ''De Calculo Vesicæ'' (Utrecht, 1670), was translated into English and published in London in 1677, and with large additions in 1710. About 1673 he was appointed physician in chief to the garrison at

Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

. Ten years afterwards he came to England, settled in

Throgmorton Street Throgmorton Street is a road in the City of London that runs between Lothbury in the west and Old Broad Street in the east. Throgmorton Avenue runs from the north side of Throgmorton Street to London Wall. History It is named after Nicholas Thr ...

, London, and was admitted a licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

on 2 April 1683.

Charges of malpractice

Supported by powerful patronage he passed as a specialist on

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

and stone, but was regarded by most of his brethren as a

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack (b ...

. In 1693 he was summoned before the college for mala praxis in the internal use of

cantharidin Cantharidin is an odorless, colorless fatty substance of the terpenoid class, which is secreted by many species of blister beetles. It is a burn agent or a poison in large doses, but preparations containing it were historically used as aphrodisiac ...

, but was not punished. In April 1697 he was again summoned for the same offence, and was fined and committed to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

, but was soon released.

Narcissus Luttrell Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His ''Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714'', a ch ...

, ''Brief Historical Relation...'', iv. 214) A female patient, to whom he is said to have administered thirty-six grains of the medicine, brought an action against him on the following 7 December, but though nearly twenty members of the college appeared on her behalf, a verdict was given in his favour. He in turn sued the college for wrongful imprisonment, but the court gave judgment for the defendants on 8 June 1700. In May 1710 Groenveldt was living opposite the Sun Tavern,

Threadneedle Street Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, England, between Bishopsgate at its northeast end and Bank junction in the southwest. It is one of nine streets that converge at Bank. It lies in the ward of Cornhill. History The stree ...

, but died apparently in the same year.

Writings

Groenveldt, or Greenfield, as he sometimes styled himself in England, was the author of a small treatise on his favourite medicine, entitled ''Tutus Cantharidum in medicina Usus internus'', 1698 (2nd edition, 1703), which was translated into English, with additions, by John Marten, surgeon, in 1706. He wrote also: *''Dissertatio Lithologica'', 1684; 2nd edition, 1687. *''Practica Medica'', 1688. *''Arthritology; or a Discourse of the Gout'', 1691. *''Fundamenta Medicinse scriptoribus … præstantioribus deprompta'' non. 1714; 2nd edition, with author's name (1715). This handbook, compiled by Groenveldt from the dictation of Zypæus, was published in English in 1715 and 1753.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groenveldt, John 1647 births 1710 deaths 17th-century Dutch physicians 17th-century English medical doctors Dutch expatriates in England People from Deventer