Huxham left a vivid account of the “Devonshire colic”. He was at fault, however, in ascribing it to the tartar extracted from apples in the process of making cider.

Huxham’s best work. He was well known in the west of England and wrote important monographs on diphtheria and on Devonshire colic. Huxham seemed to appreciate that a difference existed between typhus and typhoid, at that time usually regarded as one condition. This book included the first use of the word “influenza” by an English physician.

Huxham made daily records of the weather and prevailing diseases; his aim was to establish a relationship between atmospheric conditions and disease. The work was first published in 1728; vol. 1 and 2 of the edition given above are second edition, which was rounded off by a third volume published posthumously. English translation of vol. 1 and 2, 1758-67.

Huxham’s reputation rests mainly on his Essays on fevers, but he also left an excellent account of diphtheria. Although he failed to differentiate the disease from scarlatinal angina, he was the first to observe the paralysis of the soft palate.

Huxham, a Devonshire man, was a pupil of Boerhaave. His most important contributions to medicine were in connection with fevers and infectious diseases.