"[I]t was with the object of discovering a "milder alkali," and bringing it into the service of medicine, that Black began his experiments on magnesia. They are described in... "Experiments upon Magnesia Alba, Quicklime, and some other Alcaline Substances"... his thesis for the... M.D... at Edinburgh in 1754; he had been making the experiments since 1752. The actual thesis was in Latin: "De Humore Acido a Cibis orto, et Magnesia Alba"; the pamphlet was published in the following year."