Facets

#13458

Mélanges d'histoire de la médecine hébraïque. Études choisies de la Revue d'histoire de la médecine hébraïque (1948-1985). Edited by Gad Freudenthal and Samuel Kottek.

1489

#6495.7

Maimonides: Aphorismi secundum doctrinam Galeni. Add: Mesue: Aphorismi. Rhasis: De secretis in medicina. Hippocrates: Capsula eburnea.

The most popular and influential medical work by Maimonides, the most famous of early Jewish physician/philosophers. This is a collection of about 1500 aphorisms derived from Galen, and divided into 24 treatises. In t…

1500

#53

Aphorismi secundum doctrinam Galeni. Add: Johannes Damascenus [Mesue?]: Aphorismi. Hippocrates: Secreta; Prognosticatio secundum lunam; Capsula eburnea; De humana natura; De aere et aqua et regionibus; De pharmaciis; De insomniis. Avenzohar: De curatione lapidis.

An edition of the Latin translation of Maimonides’ Aphorismi (first published, Venice, 1489), together with a compilation of the works of Mesue, Avenzoar, Galen, etc. Page for page reprint, Venice, 1508. See No. 6495.…

1536

#46

Omnia opera Ysaac in hoc volumini contenta: cum quibusdam alijs opusculis: Liber de definitionibus. Liber de elementis. Liber dietaru[m] vniversalium: cum co[m]me[n]to Petri Hispani. Liber dietarum particularium ... Liber de vrinis cum commento eiusdem. Liber de febribus. Pantechni decem libri theorices: et decem practices: cum tractatu de gradibus medicinarum Constantini. Viaticum Ysaac quod constantinus sibi attribuit. Liber de oculis Constantini. Liber des stomacho Constantini. Liber virtutum de simplici medicina Constantini. Compendium megatechni Galeni a Constantino compositum ; Cum tabula [et] repertorio omnium operum et questionum in co[m]mentis contentarum. Edited by Andreas Turinus.

Constantine was a Muslim from North Africa who converted to Christianity. His writings were first published with those of Isaac Judaeus in the above edition which includes many separate texts. Many of the writings of …

1551

#12945

Curationum medicinalium centuria prima, multiplici variaque rerum cognitione referta. Praexfixa est eiusdem auctoris commentatio, in qua docetur, quomodo se medicus habere debeat in introitu ad aegrotantem, simulque de crisi, & diebus decretoriis, in qui artem medicam exercent, & quotidie pro salute aegrotorum in collegium descendunt longe utilissima.

Lusitano has been credited with early recognition of the circulation of the blood. How much he might have understood the circulation remains in doubt; however, through dissections of the Azygos vein, he was the first …

1556

#3049

Curationum medicinalium centuriae quatuor.

Contains (Cent. iii, curat. 70, p. 286) first recorded case of purpura as a separate entity, not associated with fever. English translation of this section in Major, Classic descriptions of disease, 3rd. ed., 1945, p.…

1588

#13546

De medico hebraeo: Enarratio apologica ... Apposita sunt praeterea, non paucorum amplissimorum principum, quam multa decreta, in hebraeorum fauorem constituta. Annectuntur, quinetiam, in tractatus calce, nonnulla aurea dicta; ex priscorum hebraeorum monumentis excerpta; nunc primum, latinitate donata, & ad studiosorum vtilitatem, in lucem edita. Dauid de Pomis, medico physico hebraeo, auctore.

De Pomis was a rabbi and physician. "... on account of the edict of Pius IV forbidding Jewish physicians to attend Christians (1555), he moved from town to town in Italy before he settled in 1569 in Venice, where he p…

1603

#11873

De universa mulierum medicina, novo et antehac a nemine tentato ordine opus absolutissimum. Et studiosis omnibus utile, medicis vero pernecessarium. Pars prima theorica. Quatuor comprehensa libris, in quibus cuncta, quae ad mulieribus naturam, anatomen, semen, menstruum,… Pars secunda, sive praxis …. 2 parts in 1.

The first treatise on gynecology written by a Portuguese author, the work was written in two parts: Part one, about theory, was titled De natura mulierum (On female nature) and was divided into four books: (1) Anatomy…

1614

#1759

Medicus-politicus: Sive de officiis medico-politicis tractatus.

One of the first “modern” works on medical ethics. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1622

#9633

Tabacologia: Hoc est, tabaci, seu nicotianae descriptio medico-cheirurgico-pharmaceutica: Vel eius praeparatio & usus in omnibus corporis humani incommodis.

Neander described tobacco, its processing, and medical-pharmaceutical use. His book Includes images of the plants, of Indian, Oriental and European types of pipes, as well as depictions of cultivation and processing b…

1672

#1826.1

New-Englands rarities discovered: in birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, and plants of that country. Together with the physical and chyrurgical remedies wherewith the natives constantly use to cure their distempers, wounds, and sores…

The first detailed account of the natural history and botany of North America, including the first extensive study of native North American medicine.

1672

#7007

The American physician : or, a treatise of the roots, plants, trees, shrubs, fruit, herbs, etc., growing in the English Plantations in America ; ... whereunto is added a discourse of the Cacao-nut-Tree, and the use of its fruit ; with all the ways of making Chocolate

The earliest work in English on the medicinal virtues of North American tropical plants. Based on first-hand observations made in the West Indies, Evidence suggests that Hughes began his career in 1651 with a privatee…

1708

#6496.1

Ma’aseh Tuviyyah [Works of Tobias]…Hebrew text.

The only significantly illustrated early book on medicine in Hebrew. This is an encyclopedia, of which approximately half concerns medicine. One of the first Jews from the Eastern ghetto to obtain a medical education …

1737

#12473

The natural history of North Carolina. With an account of the trade, manners and customs of the Christian and Indian inhabitants. Illustrated with copper-plates, whereon are curiously engraved the map of the country, several strange beasts, birds, fishes, snakes, insects, trees, and plants, &c.

Brickell accompanied provincial governor George Burrington to North Carolina in 1724, remaining in the region for six years and becoming one of the first medical doctors in North Carolina. Brickell took the material o…

1751

#1832

Descriptions, virtues, and uses of sundry plants of these northern parts of America, and particularly of the newly discovered Indian cure for the venereal disease.

Bartram founded one of the first botanical gardens in America (at Kingsessing). Linnaeus referred to him as the “greatest natural botanist in the world”. A few copies of this 7-page work printed by Benjamin Franklin w…

1763

#6970

An account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of agues.

Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, discovered that the bark of the willow tree (active ingredient: salicylic acid) was effective in reducing a fever. This was the first report in the scientific literatu…

1764

#9509

An essay on the more common West-India diseases and the remedies which that country itself produces: To which are added some hints on the management, &c. of negroes.

Though the title suggests tropical medicine in general, this work mainly concerns the selection and medical care of slaves. Digital facsimile of the second edition (Edinburgh, 1802) expanded "with practical notes and …

1774

#6451.90

An oration…containing an enquiry into the natural history of medicine among the Indians in North-America; and a comparative view of their diseases and remedies, with those of civilized nations.

Rush was the first American physician to publish a detailed study of native American medicine. Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive, at this link.

1775

#7505

The history of the American Indians; particularly those nations adjoining to the Missisippi [sic] East and West Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia: containing an account of their origin, language, manners, religious and civil customs, laws, form of government, punishments, conduct in war and domestic life, their habits, diet, agriculture, manufactures, diseases and method of cure... With observations on former historians, the conduct of our colony governors, superintendents, missionaries, & c. Also an appendix, containing a description of the Floridas, and the Missisippi [sic] lands, with their productions--the benefits of colonizing Georgiana, and civilizing the Indians--and the way to make all the colonies more valuable to the mother country....

The author characterized himself on the title page as "a Trader with the Indians and a Resident in their Country for Forty Years." Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1776

#1601.1

Observations sur les maladies des nègres, leurs causes, leurs traitemens et les moyens de les prévenir.

Study of the health conditions and diseases of black slaves in the Americas. Digital facsimile of the 1776 edition from Google Books at this link. Second edition, expanded to two volumes. Paris: L'Auteur, 1792.

1777

#10750

Von den Krankheiten der Juden: seinen Brüdern in Deutschland gewidmet.

The earliest book devoted entirely to the health and illness of Jews, written by a Jewish physician. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1785

#13086

Observations générales sur les maladies des climats chauds, leurs causes, leur traitement, et les moyens de les prévenir.

Digital facsimile from BnF Gallica at this link.

1786

#11099

Des moyens de conserver la santé des blancs et des négres, aux Antilles ou climats chauds et humides de l'Amerique. Contenant un exposé des causes des malades propres....

Bertin practiced medicine in the West Indies, and wrote about the physical effects of the voyage there, the causes of diseases and their cures, and the effects of the Caribbean climate and humidity on health. The impr…

1787

#1837

Materia medica Americana, potissimum regni vegetabilis.

Schoepff came to America in 1777 as a surgeon with the Hessian troops employed by the British Forces. He returned to Germany in 1784 and compiled the first full American materia medica, describing about 400 plants, in…

1788

#8216

Observations sur le tétanos; Ses différences, ses causes, ses symptômes, avec le traitement de cette maladie & les moyens de la prévenir. Précédées d'un discours sur les moyens de perfectionner la médecine-pratique sous la zone torride. Suivies d'observations sur la santé des femmes enceintes dans ces régions; leurs maladies aux différentes époques de la grossesse; l'accouchement & les suites; la conservation des nouveau-nés jusqu'à l'adolescence. Terminées par le rapprochement des vices & des abus des hôpitaux d'entre les tropiques, & les moyens d'y remédier. Par M. Dazille. Pour servir de développement & de suite à ce que cet auteur a écrit du tétanos dans ses ouvrages sur les maladies des nègrse [sic], & sur les maladies des climats chauds.

Primarily concerning the diseases of black slaves. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1788

#9896

Recherches, mémoires et observations sur les maladies épizootiques de Saint-Dominique, recueillis & publiés par le Cercle des Philadelphes du Cap-François.

The Cercle des Philadelphes, of which Charles Arthaud was president, was an academic scientific society in Saint-Domingue, in existence between 1784 and 1791. It was the most prominent academic society in the Americas…

1788

#10813

An account of the slave trade on the coast of Africa.

Falconbridge was a surgeon in the slave trade before becoming an abolitionist. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1788

#13163

Voyages intéressans dans différentes colonies françaises, espagnoles, anglaises, &c; contenant des observations importantes relatives à ces contrées; & un mémoire sur les maladies les plus communes à Saint-Domingue, leurs remèdes, & le moyen de s'en préserver moralement & phisiquement: Avec des anecdotes singulières, qui n'avaient jamais été publiés....

The final section addresses maladies affecting the residents of Saint-Domingue. Unlike many of his contemporaries Bourgeois assiduously recorded the medical practices of the enslaved and subjugated African and Indigen…

1793

#5451

A short account of the malignant fever, lately prevalent in Philadelphia: With a statement of the proceedings that took place on the subject in different parts of the United States.

Carey was a Philadelphia publisher and economist rather than a physician. In this little book, which passed through four editions in a few months, Carey left a graphic description of the great yellow fever epidemic of…

1793

#13041

The history of Dahomy, an inland kingdom of Africa; compiled from authentic memoirs; with an introduction and notes.

Dalzel studied medicine at Edinburgh, and served in the Royal Navy as a surgeon during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). Discharged in 1763, he accepted a position as a surgeon in the Company of Merchants Trading to Afr…

1794

#5453.1

A narrative of the proceedings of the black people during the late awful calamity in Philadelphia, in the year 1793: and a refutation of some censures thrown upon them in some late publications.

A refutation of slights by Matthew Carey in his Short account of the malignant fever, lately prevalent in Philadelphia (1793; No. 5451) to the important contributions of black people, many of whom served as nurses and…

1801

#1838.2

The American herbal, or materia medica.

The first herbal both produced and printed in the United States, as opposed to those which were reprints of European works. Includes information on native American remedies. Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage…

1801

#9897

The medical assistant, or Jamaica practice of physic: Designed chiefly for the use of families and plantations.

Digital facsimile from the U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

1802

#8204

Mémoire sur le commerce des nègres au Kaire et sur les maladies auxquelles ils sont sujets en y arrivant.

Digital facsimile from BnF Gallica at this link. Also published in Mémoires sur l'Egypte: ... Publiés dans les années VII, VIII et IX, Volume 4, (An X) pp. 125-156.

1802

#9581

An entire, new, and original work; being a complete treatise upon spinae pedum; containing several important discoveries. Illustrated with copperplates exhibiting the different species of spinae.

The first original British work on podiatry, with several illustrations, one hand-colored. Disappointed at being refused a medical degree, Lion, a German Jewish émigré, wrote this book, taking the unusual step of havi…

1803

#5266

An account of the native Africans in the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone; to which is added, an account of the present state of medicine among them. 2 vols.

In his travels in Africa, Winterbottom, physician to the Colony of Sierra Leone (now Republic of Sierra Leone) on the west coast of Africa, saw sleeping sickness, which he described in vol. 2, pp. 29-31, as a species …

1803

#8025

Practical rules for the management and medical treatment of negro slaves in the sugar colonies

Collins, a British doctor and planter, spent fourteen years in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. Written from the utilitarian perspective of a master, this handbook on slave medicine was intended to maximize the …

1805 –1806

#2159.1

Remarks on the management of the scalped-head.

Treatment for the quintessential American war injury suffered by troops and settlers alike on the American frontier.

1807

#7049

The planter's and mariner's medical companion: treating, according to the most successful practice, I. The diseases common to warm climates and on ship board. II. Common cases in surgery, as fractures, dislocations, &c. &c. III. The complaints peculiar to women and children. To which are subjoined a dispensatory, shewing how to prepare and administer family medicines, and a glossary giving an explanation of technical terms.

Ewell, then practicing in Savannah, Georgia, wrote this self-help book for southern residents, directing his book toward plantation owners. It was "the constant friend of a large number of slave-masters. In emergencie…

1812

#12196

Collection d'opuscules de médecine pratique, avec un mémoire sur le commerce des nègres au Kaire.

Frank was with Napoleon in Egypt; this volume contains numerous reports on aspects of medicine during that campaign. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1814

#8219

Coup-d'oeil sur Saint-Domingue; observations sur le caractère des négres et sur la fièvre jaune; moyens de recouvrer cette colonie, et de se préserver des maladies qui y règnent.

Digital facsimile from patrimoines-martinique.org at this link.

1814

#9641

Botanic medicine: A new and complete American medical family herbal: Wherein is displayed the true properties and medical virtues of the plants, indigenous to the United States of America, together with Lewis' secret remedy newly discovered, which has been found infallible in the cure of that dreadful disease hydrophobia, produced by the bite of a mad dog.

Henry wrote that he had been a captive of the Indians during the Creek War and that he incorporated what he learned during his captivity. His work was one of the first illlustrated herbals published in the United Stat…

1817 –1820

#1842

American medical botany, being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet and the arts. 3 vols.

Bigelow was professor of materia medica and botany at Harvard. This work included native American remedies. It was the first book printed in the United States to include color plates printed in color. See R.J. Wolfe, …

1820

#7055

A treatise on the diseases of Negroes, as they occur in the island of Jamaica: with observations on the country remedies.

Digital facsimile from the National Library of Medicine, Internet Archive, at this link.

1822

#6988

New guide to health; or botanic family physician, containing a complete system of practice, upon a plan entirely new; with a description of the vegetables made use of, and directions for preparing and adminstering them to cure disease. To which is prefixed a narrative of the life and medical discoveries of the author.

The "Bible" of Thomsonism or "Thomsonian medicine", which employed botanical remedies, often based on native American medicines. Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive, at this link.

1822

#10751

A narrative of the life and medical discoveries of Samuel Thomson: Containing an account of his system of practice, and the manner of curing disease with vegetable medicine, upon a plan entirely new; to which is added an introduction to his New Guide to Health, or Botanic Family Physician containing the principles upon which the system is founded, with remarks on fevers, steaming, poison &c.

Thomson issued this introductory work shortly before publication of his New Guide. Three issues appeared in 1822: one with 180 pages, another with 182 pages including testimonials, and a 204 page issue with the introd…

1823

#8798

Manners and customs of several Indian tribes located west of the Mississippi; including some account of the soil, climate, and vegetable productions, and the Indian materia medica: to which is prefixed the history of the author's life during a residence of several years among them.

Hunter claimed that as a child he had been captured by the Cherokee before they came to Texas. He adopted the name of an English benefactor, John Dunn, and later added the name "Hunter" given by the Indians because of…

1826

#13365

Recherches et expériences sur les poisons d'Amérique: Tirés des trois règnes de La nature, et envisagés sous les rapports de l'histoire naturelle, de la physiologie, de le pathologie et de la chimie, avec un essai sur l'empoisonnement par Les miasmes des marais, le mal d'estomac des nègres (cachexia Africana), et les maladies qui ressemblent aux empoisonnemens; pour servir à la toxicologie générale du continent d'Amérique et des Antilles.

1828 –1830

#1849

Medical flora; or, manual of the medical botany of the United States of North America. Containing a selection of above 100 figures and descriptions of medical plants, with their names, qualities, properties, history &c; and notes or remarks on nearly 500 equivalent substitutes. 2 vols.

Rafinesque was a great botanist, conchologist, archaeologist, and economist. Born in a suburb of Istanbul, he was also a world citizen and a prolific writer with 939 works to his credit. He died in extreme poverty in …

1830

#13720

Thoughts on the original unity of the human race.

The first important American presentation of the case for polygenesis in support of slavery. Caldwell presented the first important American critique of the monogenist theories of human ancestry promoted by Samuel Sta…