title: Jacob Aall's illness and death.
abstract: Jacob Aall (1773-1844) was one of Norway's most notable nation-builders at the beginning of the 19th century. He owned and operated a large ironworks, participated in political life and was an historian, writer and translator of sagas. In the last 15 years of his life, he suffered greatly from pain attacks. After his death, an autopsy was performed and the doctors found a stone the size of a hen's egg, which weighed more than 90 g. The stone was variously described as a kidney stone and a bladder stone. Aall had travelled to Copenhagen in 1837 and consulted the Danish doctor Ludvig Levin Jacobson (1783-1843), known for his instrument for crushing bladder stones, a new and revolutionary treatment method. But some disagreement appears to have arisen between them about the treatment. A year later Aall consulted Christen Heiberg (1799-1872), a professor of surgery in Christiania (now Oslo). Heiberg also examined Aall's bladder and found «no cause for alarm». Aall adhered to a strict diet, including drinking an Italian «spa water» daily which he obtained in bottles from Trieste. However, he showed no great improvement. To all appearances, it was kidney stones that afflicted him in his last years and which finally ended his life. This article gives a full portrayal of the course of his illness with an authentic description from an age when there were no treatment possibilities for kidney stones.
authors: Erlend
authors: E
authors: Hem
authors: Arild
authors: A
authors: Stubhaug
mesh_terms: D005197:Famous Persons; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D009664:Norway; D001744:Urinary Bladder Calculi / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy