Devon colic is an affliction caused by lead poisoning

Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...

 which was suffered by the people of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 during parts of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The first written account of the colic comes from 1655. Symptoms began with severe abdominal pain

Abdominal pain

Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. Making a definitive diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain can be difficult, because many diseases can result in this symptom. Abdominal pain is a common problem...

s and the condition was occasionally fatal. Cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

 is the traditional drink of Devonians, and the connection between the colic and cider drinking had been observed for many years. This was commonly attributed to the acidity of the beverage.

William Musgrave

William Musgrave

William Musgrave , physician and antiquary. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he was a fellow from 1677 to 1692. In 1680 he spent a brief period at the University of Leiden....

's publication De arthritide symptomatica (2nd edn, 1715) included the first scientific description of 'Devonshire colic' - it was later referred to by John Huxham

John Huxham

John Huxham was born 1672 close to Totnes, Devon. He was a provincial doctor and surgeon notable for his study of fevers. In 1750 Huxham published his Essay on Fevers and in 1755 received the Copley Medal for his contribution to medicine.-Biography:...

 and Sir George Baker

George Baker, 1st Baronet

Sir George Baker, Bt, MD, FRS, FSA was an English physician.He was born in Modbury, Devon, the son of George Baker, vicar of Modbury, and his wife Bridget Harris. He was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. In 1749 he went to Leyden University to study physic, becoming MD in 1756...

.

However, the precise cause was not discovered until the 1760s when Dr George Baker put forwards the hypothesis that poisoning from lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 in cider was to blame. He observed that the symptoms of the colic were similar to those of lead poisoning. He pointed out that lead was used in the cider making process both as a component of the cider presses and in the form of lead shot

Lead shot

Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...

which was used to clean them. He also conducted chemical tests to demonstrate the presence of lead in Devon apple juice.

The publication of his results met with some hostile reaction from cider manufacturers, keen to defend their product.

Once Baker's conclusions became accepted and the elimination of lead from the cider presses was undertaken, the colic declined. By 1818, Baker's son reported that it was "hardly known to exist" in Devon.