Wrote Letter L-538 of 1716-09-17 to Abraham Cornelis van Bleyswyck about his own intestinal ailment and the roles of chyle, gall (bile), and the diaphragm in the digestive process

Date: 
September 17, 1716
Standard reference information
L-number: 
L-538
Leeuwenhoek's number: 
XXVII
Collected Letters volume: 
18

Text of the letter in the original Dutch and in English translation in Alle de Brieven / The Collected Letters is not yet available at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren.

The original manuscript is lost.

In this letter, Leeuwenhoek described an intestinal attack. At the time it had no name and Leeuwenhoek was the first to describe it. It is now known as diaphragmatic flutter or respiratory myoclonus, also known as belly dancer's syndrome.

about his own intestinal ailment and the roles of chyle, gall (bile), and the diaphragm in the digestive process