Facets

1476

#274

De animalibus. Translated by Theodorus Gaza. Edited by Ludovicus Podocarthus.

Includes Aristotle's De historia animalium, De partibus animalium, and De generatione animalium. Aristotle was the first scientist to gather empirical evidence about the biological world through observation. By his ca…

1559

#378.1

De re anatomica libri xv.

Colombo was a pupil of Vesalius, and succeeded him in the chair of anatomy at Padua before proceeding to chairs first at Pisa and later at Rome. His book, published just after his death, rectified a number of anatomic…

1575

#4964

Examen de ingenios para las ciencias.

Huarte was a distinguished Spanish physician and psychologist. His Examen, which gained for him a European reputation, was the first attempt to show the connection between psychology and physiology. English translatio…

1590

#2244

Historia natural y moral de las Indias.

One of the earliest detailed and realistic descriptions of the New World. Acosta hypothesized that the indigenous peoples of Latin America had migrated from Asia. He also divided the native peoples into three barbaria…

1671

#294.1

Esperienze intorno a diverse cose naturali…

Includes the first scientific study of an electric fish. While the torpedo’s peculiar properties had provoked scientific speculation since at least the time of Aristotle, Redi was the first to perform an actual dissec…

1745

#308

Traité d’insectologie.

This pioneering work on experimental entomology incorporates Bonnet’s most important discovery–parthenogenetic reproduction–based on his study of aphids. Bonnet used the result of this and other discoveries as a basis…

1773

#589

Of the electric property of the torpedo.

The first accurate study of the electrical organs of the torpedo fish were made by Walsh, who was given the Copley Medal of the Royal Society for his work on the subject. Walsh proved that the shock of the torpedo was…

1783

#12037

Lettera dell' Abate Spallanzani al Sig. Marchese Lucchesini.

Records on pp. 80-104 Spallanzani's work on the torpedo. In the 1780's Spallanzani turned to marine biology, making several trips to the Mediterranean region. On his visit to Portovenere in 1783 "he instituted the fir…

1818

#9692

Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus. 3 vols.

The full digitized text of the 1818 is available from the Internet Archive at this link.

1824

#145.56

De l’influence des agens physiques sur la vie.

Edwards studied the influence of environmental factors on animal life, concluding that vital processes depend on external physical and chemical forces but are not entirely controlled by them. The work includes an acco…

1832 –1833

#480

Abhandlungen zur Bildungs-und Entwicklungs-Geschichte der Menschen und der Thiere. 2 pts.

Rathke’s most notable discovery was of structures homologous with gill slits in bird and mammalian embryos. He discredited the vertebral theory of the skull.

1832

#12197

On the influence of physical agents on life, by W. F. Edwards. Translated from the French by Dr. Hodgkin and Dr. Fisher. To which are added, in the appendix, some observations on electricity by Dr. Edwards, M. Pouillet, and Luke Howard; on absorption, and the uses of the spleen, by Dr. Hodgkin; on the microscopic characters of the animal tissues and fluids, by J. J. Lister and Dr. Hodgkin, and some notes to the work of Dr. Edwards.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1835 –1859

#603

The cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology. Edited by Robert Bentley Todd. 5 vols.

Contributors included Richard Owen and Thomas Huxley, and physicians James Paget, James Young Simpson, and William Bowman.The discoveries of Purkynĕ and Valentin, together with additional observations by William Sharp…

1839

#541

De formatione granulosa in nervis aliisque partibus organismi animalis.

In 1839 Purkynĕ was the first to use the term protoplasma, by which he described the embryonic ground substance. This fact is recorded in the inaugural dissertation of one of his students, J. Rosenthal.

1858

#12256

Des appareils l'electriques des poissons l'electriques. 2 vols. (Text and atlas).

Digital facsimile of the text from the Hathi Trust at this link.

1865

#6938

Catalogue de la superbe bibliothèque d'ethnographie, de zoologie, d'anatomie comparée, etc....

The auction catalogue of Vrolik's library, sold two years after his death, organized by subject. Prefaced by an essay about Vrolik's life and work by J. van der Hoeven, and a chronological list of Vrolik's publication…

1866 –1868

#336

On the anatomy and physiology of the vertebrates. 3 vols.

Vol. 1. Fishes and reptiles; Vol. 2. Birds; Vol. 3. Mammals. The most important work on the subject after Cuvier, based entirely on personal observations. Owen entitled his 40th and concluding chapter "Derivative hypo…

1877 –1880

#632

Observations on the locomotor system of Medusae. 3 pts.

Charles Sherrington described the significance of Romanes' research on jellyfish in terms of its impact on cardiac physiology: "Romanes's observations carried out with simple means were novel and fundamental. The ques…

1878

#499

The embryology of Clepsine.

The study of cell-lineage was initiated by Whitman’s paper on Clepsine.

1881

#502

Die Coelomtheorie. Versuch einer Erklärung des mittleren Keimblattes.

The Hertwig brothers formulated the “coelom” theory to account for the classification and phylogeny of metazoan animals. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1882 –1883

#702

Zur Chemie des Zellkerns.

Among the many important contributions of Kossel was his study of the chemistry of the cell and cell-nucleus. Kossel correctly concluded that the function of nuclein is neither to act as a storage substance nor to fur…

1891

#517.1

Untersuchungen über den ersten Entwicklungsvorgänge in den Eiern der Insekten. II. Ueber Spermatogenese und deren Beziehung zur Eientwicklung bei Pyrrhocoris apterus.

In his study of the testicles of the firebug (Pyrrhocoris) Henking noticed that one chromosome did not take part in meiosis. He named this X element because its strange behavior made him unsure whether it was genuinel…

1895

#8653

An atlas of the fertilization and karyokinesis of the ovum.

The first atlas of photomicrographs showing fertilization and cellular development during mitosis. The photomicrographs were taken by Leaming. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1896

#238

The cell in development and inheritance.

Wilson emphasized the function of cytology in the study of embryology, heredity, evolution and general physiology. The above work has been called the single most influential treatise on cytology of the 20th century. T…

1896

#13072

On the pigment of the negro's skin and hair.

"In the present state of our knowledge we can only say that it seems highly probable that the pigment of the negro's hair is not different from the dark pigment found in the hair of the white races, and we may infer t…

1902

#518

The accessory chromosome; sex determination.

McClung showed that the accessory chromosomes are the determinants of sex.

1908

#523

Contributions to the study of the early development and imbedding of the human ovum. An early ovum imbedded in the decidua.

The “Bryce-Teacher ovum”, age estimated at 13-14 days.

1908 –1952

#18

The works of Aristotle translated into English. Edited by J.A. Smith and W.D. Ross. 12 vols.

De motu animalium. De incessu animalium. In his Works, edited by J.A. Smith and W.D. Ross, 5, 698a-714b., Oxford, 1912. De Anima. In his Works… translated into English. Edited by J. A. Smith and W. D. Ross. 3, 402a-35…

1913

#527.1

The mechanism of fertilization.

1920

#529

Mechanismus und Physiologie der Geschlechtsbestimmung.

Translated into English William J. Dakin as The Mechanism and Physiology of Sex Determination (London: Methuen & Co., 1923). Digital facsimile of the 1920 edition from Google Books at this link. Digital facsimile of t…

1920

#7000

The growth and shedding of the antlers of the deer. The histological phenomena and their relation to the growth of bone.

The first study of the unusual and dramatic physiology of the annual growth and shedding of the antlers of deer. "The amount of bony matter annually secreted to form antlers of the larger deer is enormous, antlers of …

1922 –1931

#7649

Das Leben des Menschen. Eine volkstümliche Anatomie, Biologie, Physiologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte des Menschen. 5 vols.

By developing a new infographics style of illustration in which physiological processes and other technical medical and biological concepts were often depicted as, or compared to machines, Kahn made medical and biolog…

1927

#251.1

Artificial transmutation of the gene.

Muller showed that radiation causes mutations that are passed on from one generation to the next. This was the first suggestion that inherited traits might be altered or controlled, and it created a sensation: “Man’s …

1929

#566.1

The growth, development and phosphatase activity of embryonic avian femora in limb-buds cultivated in vitro.

First modern organ cultures.

1934

#6622.1

John Keats’s anatomical and physiological note book …edited by Maurice Buxton Forman.

Keats was a pupil and dresser at Guy’s Hospital from 1815-16, and was licensed to practice upon completion of his studies. While struggling to launch his poetic career he was often tempted to practice medicine, but ne…

1941

#254.3

Genetic control of biochemical reactions in Neurospora.

Beadle and Tatum proposed the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis in 1941. This was a restatement of ideas originally proposed by Archibald Garrod (No. 244.1) in 1908. 1958 Beadle and Tatum shared the Nobel Prize in Phy…

1942

#532

Some aspects of early human development.

Report of the youngest normal implanted fertilized human ovum, fertilization age about 7 1/2 days. Hertig and Rock published a more detailed study in Contr. Embryol. Carneg. Instn. 1945, 31, 65-84.

1946

#2578.5

Induced mutations in bacterial viruses.

Genetic recombination in bacteriophages. In 1969 Delbrück shared the Nobel Prize with A. D. Hershey and S. E. Luria "for their discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses."

1946

#14138

Die Tänze der Bienen.

Von Frisch discovered the waggle dance, a particular figure-eight dance of honey bees by which successful foragers can communicate information with other members of their colony about the direction and distance to pat…

1949

#2526.1

Genetic recombinations leading to production of active bacteriophage from ultraviolet inactivated bacteriophage particles.

In 1969 Luria shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in with Delbrück (No. 2578.5) and A. D. Hershey (No. 256) "for their discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses."

1952

#366

Leonardo da Vinci on the human body. The anatomical, physiological, and embryological drawings of Leonardo da Vinci. With translations, emendations, and biographical introduction by Charles D. O'Malley and J. B. de C. M. Saunders.

Includes 215 plates.

1952

#256

Independent functions of viral protein and nucleic acid in growth of bacteriophage.

DNA shown to be the carrier of genetic information in virus reproduction. In 1969 Hershey shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with S. E. Luria and M. Delbrück for "for their discoveries concerning the rep…

1953

#256.3

Molecular structure of nucleic acids. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid.

Watson and Crick shared the Nobel Prize with M. H. F. Wilkins (No. 256.4) "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material." L…

1953

#256.4

Helical structure of crystalline deoxypentose nucleic acid.

In 1962 Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Crick and Watson "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living…

1955

#13685

A small particulate component of the cytoplasm.

Palade first described the association of what were subsequently determined to ribosomes with membranes. He and Keith Porter subsequently named this structure the endoplasmic reticulum. Digital facsimile from PubMedCe…

1956

#752.4

Enzymic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid.

In 1959 Kornberg shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Severo Ochoa "for their discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid." Order of authorshi…

1958

#752.6

Studies on polynucleotides. I. A new and general method for the chemical synthesis of the C5'-C3' intemucleotide linkage. Synthesis of deoxyribo-dinucleotides.

In 1968 Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with R. W. Holley and M. W. Nirenberg "for their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis." H. G. Khorana, T. M. Jacob, …

1959

#14141

Factors affecting the activity of muscle phosphorylase b kinase.

In 1992 Krebs and Fischer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning reversible protein phosphorylation as a biological regulatory mechanism." Digital facsimile from PubMe…

1961

#256.9

Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins.

In 1965 Jacob, Monod, and André Lwoff shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis."

1961

#256.11

Characteristics and stabilization of DNAase-sensitive protein synthesis in E. coli extracts.

With Matthaei, Nirenberg demonstrated that messenger RNA is required for protein synthesis, and that synthetic messenger RNA preparations can be used to decipher various aspects of the genetic code. Nirenberg first re…