Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: diuretic

  • William Withering and the foxglove

    In 1785 William Withering, physician and botanist in Birmingham, England, wrote a book describing how for ten years he had used an extract of foxglove to treat patients afflicted with swollen legs and abdomen. He said he had often been urged to write on this subject and had been rather diffident about it, feeling unqualified…