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, 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

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. Ten years afterwards he came to England, settled in

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, London, and was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians 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

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