Genre:

Dialogue, Spoof

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

J Leech *

Subjects:

Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment, Disease

    A patient describes his symptoms to a physician who, on questioning and physically examining the patient, repeatedly insists that the patient's problem derives from bile. Whichever 'symptom' the patient describes, however mundane, the physician argues that bile is the cause. For example, the patient complains: 'I have an itching sensation occasionally at the end of the nose, and a burning of the tips of the ears, a soreness of the chest when I go to breath, a trembling at the knees, and a sensation of cold, like water poured down the back'. The physician simply replies: 'All owing to bile, Sir'. The physician proceeds to explain the biliary organs, prescribes pills, and advises on a suitable diet. The illustration shows a physician and his sorry-looking patient.