 The first published description of a case of leukemia in medical literature dates to 1827 , when French physician Alfred @-@ Armand @-@ Louis @-@ Marie Velpeau described a 63 @-@ year @-@ old <unk> who developed an illness characterized by fever , weakness , urinary stones , and substantial enlargement of the liver and spleen . Velpeau noted the blood of this person had a consistency " like <unk> " , and speculated the appearance of the blood was due to white <unk> . In 1845 , a series of people who died with enlarged <unk> and changes in the " colors and <unk> of their blood " was reported by the Edinburgh @-@ based pathologist <unk> Bennett ; he used the term " <unk> " to describe this <unk> condition . 
