Facets

1467

#2190

De sermonum proprietate sive Opus de universo.

Also known as De rerum naturis. This dictionary or encyclopedia is the earliest known printed book to include a section dealing with medicine, and this brief section, Book 18, Chap. V concerning medicine and diseases,…

1470

#13696

Rhetorica ad C. Herennium.

First description of the "method of loci," the memory technique as known as the "memory palace." Because of its wide use during the Middle Ages this text survives in hundreds of medieval manuscripts. Fourteen printed …

1472

#6315

De infantium aegritudinibus et remediis.

The first printed book dealing exclusively with pediatrics. This was also the first medical treatise, and probably also the first scientific treatise, to make its original appearance in printed form rather than having…

1472

#6787

Etymologiae.

The principal work of Isidore of Seville, one of the greatest educationists of the Middle Ages. The Etymologiae, an encyclopedic work, presented the sum of contemporary knowledge on all branches of science. Book IV af…

1473

#6788

Synonyma medicinae, seu clavis sanationis.

The first printed medical dictionary. It was originally published at Ferrara, 1471-2?, of which the only recorded copy is a fragment of 21 leaves in the Bodleian Library. ISTC No. is00526000. “The great work of Simon …

1475

#6789

Aggregator, sive de medicinis simplicibus.

First printed edition of an encyclopedic dictionary of medicine, containing a large number of medical recipes based upon Greek and Arabic sources. Dondi completed the work in 1355. Manuscripts of his text are preserve…

1519

#6790

Synonima und gerecht vrlegug der Auslegung der Wörter, so man dan in der Artzny, allen Krütern, Wurtzlen, Blümen, Somen, Gesteinen, Safften vnn anderen Digen zu schreiben ist.

Digital facsimile from Universität Wien at this link.

1525

#6820

Hippocratis Coi medicorum omnium longe principis, octoginta volumnia quibus maxima ex parte, annorum circiter duo millia Latina caruit lingua. . . .translated by Marco Fabio Calvo

The first collected edition of the Hippocratic collection in the Latin translation of Marco Fabio Calvo of Ravenna, dedicated to Pope Clement VII. "This volume, which preceded the first, Aldine, edition of the Greek t…

1531

#7148

Shishan yian (Stone Mountain medical case histories) (The Shishan medical records) 石山醫案.

This work, in three juan with a supplement and in three volumes, was written by Wang Ji (1463–1539), physician and member of a Ming dynasty medical family, and originally published in manuscript in 1520. The manuscrip…

1539

#10165

Epistola docens venam axillarem dextri cubiti in dolore laterali secandam: & melancholium succum ex venae portae ramis ad sedem pertinentibus, purgari.

In this early study, written in the form of a letter to his friend and mentor Imperial Physician, Nicolaus Florenas, who had encouraged him to study medicine, Vesalius reported his study of the venous system of the hu…

1541

#1807

Historia plantarum et vires ex Dioscoride, Paulo Aegineta, Theophrasto, Plinio, & recentioribus Graecis, iuxta elementorum ordinem, per Conradum Gesnerum Tigurinum. Vna cum rerum & verborum locupletissimo indice.

A pocket dictionary of plants. Gesner, the “German Pliny”, produced the most encyclopedic bibliographies of his time. He attempted a Historia plantarum, which was unfinished at his death. See No. 1809.1. Digital facsi…

1545

#378

De dissectione partium corporis humani.

De dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres by French physician, writer, and translator, Charles Estienne, of the Estienne printing dynasty, is one of the most interesting woodcut books of the French Renaissance…

1555 –1556

#9773

Le benefice commun de tout le monde, ou commodité de vie d’vn chascun, pour la conseruation de santé: Remedes segretz tirées des plantes contre toutes maladies. 3 vols.

A vernacular guide for living a healthy life compiled from the writings of Fuchs. Includes herbal and dietary remedies, recipes for oils, pills and other preparations to treat maladies such as fever, plague and wounds.

1563

#4916

De praestigiis daemonum.

Weyer was the first European physician to take an empirical, scientific approach to the study of mental illness. At the height of the witchcraft delusion he argued that witches were mentally ill women who deserved hum…

1564

#6791

Dictionarium medicum.

This valuable Greek-Latin dictionary for the ancient medical writers defined and fixed a large number of anatomical terms, and exercised considerable influence on modern anatomical terminology. It was an important aid…

1564

#6792

Definitionum medicarum libri xxiii.

This dictionary arranges all Greek medical terms in order of the Greek alphabet, and carefully explains them in Latin. It was widely used, and exerted much influence on modern medical terminology.

1566

#13060

Vocum, quae apud Hippocratem sunt, collectio. Cum annotationibus Bartholomaei Eustachii . . . Eiusdemque Libellus de Multitudine.

First edition in Latin edited by Eustachi of the glossary to Hippocrates by the first century Greek grammarian Erotianus. Erotianus's work contains the earliest list of the writings of Hippocrates, including some now …

1570

#35

Hieronymi Mercurialis Variarum lectionum libri quatuor. In quibus complurium, maximeq́ue medicinae scriptorum infinita paenè loca vel corrupta restituuntur, vel obscura declarantur. Alexandri Tralliani De lumbricis epistola, ejusdem Mercurialis opera, & diligentia Graecè, & Latinè nunc primùm edita ...

Includes the first printed edition of the Greek text and Latin translation by Mercuriale of Alexander's De vermis epistola. Alexander's original description of worms and vermifuges make him the first parasitologist. D…

1583

#5817

̓Oφθαλμоδоύλεια das ist, Augendienst.

In this treatise on ophthalmic surgery Bartisch, who limited his practice to ophthalmology and hernia repair, left the first extensively illustrated account of any surgical specialty. Bartisch was a skilful operator a…

1587

#11101

Medicina universa, ex lectiones eius caeterisque opusculis, tum impressis, tum scriptis collecta, & in tres tomos nunc primum decenti ordine digesta, studio & opera Martini Weindrichii.

Montanus became a professor of practical medicine at Ferrara and at the University of Padua in 1539. His greatest innovation was to introduce clinical medicine into the curriculum as a way to integrate medical theory …

1588

#6793

Oeconomia Hippocratis, aphabeti serie distincta. In qua dictionum apud Hippocratem omnium, praesertim obscuriorum, usus explicatur, etc.

A Greek alphabetical dictionary of the vocabulary of the Hippocratic writings, based on an exhaustive investigation of all ancient medical texts.

1598

#6794

Lexicon medicum Graeco-Latinum…ex Hippocrate et Galeno desumptum.

The earlier lexicon of Gorraeus formed the basis of this work, which was reprinted in several editions, the last in 1792.

1630

#259

Persio tradotto.

The first book to contain illustrations of natural objects as seen through the microscope— specifically an engraving of the exterior surface of bees. The work includes the Latin text of the Satyrae VI of Aulus Persius…

1632

#6795

Quaestio iatrophilologica.

Learned bibliophile Gabriel Naudé eventually became Mazarin’s librarian and built up for his master a famous collection of books. He wrote an important medical dictionary. Four further parts of the above, with varying…

1639

#6796

Definitionum medicinarum liber.

A glossary of Hippocratic terms.

1644

#11858

Theatro d’Arcani del medico Lodovico Locatelli da Bergamo; nel quale si tratta dell’arte chimica, et suoi arcani, con gli afforismi d’Ippocrate commentati da Paracelso, et l’espositione d’alcune cifre, et caratteri oscuri de filosofi.

‘It is apparent that by the 1640’s Paracelsian medicine had gained momentum in Italy and that iatrochemical theories were being adopted by a number of Italian physicians. […] In 1644 there appeared the first Italian t…

1651

#467.1

The history of generation…

Highmore’s account of the development of the chick is the first embryological study based on microscopical examination, predating Malpighi (No. 468) by more than twenty years. This is also the first book in English to…

1653

#260

Historiarum et observationum medico-physicarum centuria prima (-secunda).

The first work to apply microscopy to medicine. Borel described 200 observations and applications; he probably saw the blood corpuscles and Sarcoptes scabiei.

1655

#261

De vero telescopii inventore.

Borel collected evidence to show that Zacharias (sometimes called Zacharias Janssen) invented the compound microscope about 1590. Zacharias was a spectacle-maker of Middelburg, Holland.

1656

#8591

Flora sinensis, fructus floresque humillime porrigens serenissimo et potentissimo Leopoldo Ignatio, Hungariae regi florentissimo, &c. Fructus saecul promittenti Augustissimos.

The first description published in Europe of an ecosystem of the Far East, including animals as well as plants, with particular attention to Chinese fruit bearing plants, and medicinal properties of Chinese plants. Di…

1665

#2246

De siriasi.

A treatise on sunstroke.

1665

#262

Micrographia, or some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses; with observations and inquiries thereupon.

Hooke, at one time research assistant to Robert Boyle, was one of the greatest inventive geniuses of all time. This was the first book devoted entirely to microscopical observations, and also the first book to pair it…

1671

#6491.9

Les secrets de la médecine des chinois, consistant en la parfaite connoissance du pouls. Envoyez de la Chine par un françois, homme de grand mérite.

The first Western book on Chinese medicine, with a few brief comments on Japanese methods. This anonymous collection of translations of early Chinese texts on pulse medicine has been variously attributed to different …

1676

#61

Opera. 6 vols.

Besides giving early accounts of scarlatina and rubella, Sennert added to the knowledge of scurvy, dysentery and alcoholism. He was an able clinician and also a believer in witchcraft. His Opera was first published in…

1678

#13233

Microscopium, or some new discoveries made with and concerning microscopes. Lectures and Collections made by Robert Hooke, Secretary of the Royal Society, pages 81-112.

On his title page Hooke listed the contents of this section as follows: "Mr. Leeuwenhoeck's two letters concerning some late microscopical discoveries. "The author's discourse and description of microscopes, improved …

1682

#6492

Specimen medicinae Sinicae.

One of the earliest studies of Chinese medicine published in the West. (See also Nos. 6472.10 et seq.). Cleyer edited these translations of Chinese medical texts, reproducing a series of 30 plates dealing with Chinese…

1684

#6797

A physical dictionary; in which all the terms relating either to anatomy, chirurgery, pharmacy, or chemistry, are very accurately explain’d.

The English translation of Blankaart’s dictionary was the first medical dictionary to be printed in the British Isles. The original Greek-Latin text was published in Amsterdam, 1679.

1685 –1686

#263

Oculus artificialis teledioptricus sive telescopium. 3 pts.

Includes the first complete history of early microscopes.

1685

#11718

Variarum observationum liber.

Vossius, a Dutch scholar and manuscript collector, was one of the first European writers to suggest that the Chinese had anticipated William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood. In his chapter on Chines…

1686 –1718

#265

Ontledingen en ontdekkingen.... 6 vols.

Leeuwenhoek, one of the first and also one of the greatest of the microbiologists, communicated many of his discoveries to the Royal Society in London. This set is a collection in Dutch of many contributions that van …

1686

#6492.1

Clavis medica ad Chinarum doctrinam de pulsibus. Autore R.P. Michaele Boymo, e Soc. Jesu, & in China missionario. Huius operis ultra viginti annos iam sepulti fragmenta, hinc inde dispersa, collegit & in gratiam medicae facultatis in lucem Europaeam produxit Cl. Dn. Andreas Cleyerus, M.D. & Societatis Batavo-Orientalis Proto-Medicus. A quo nunc demum mittitur totius operis exemplar, e China recens allatum, & a mendis purgatum, Procuratore R.P. Philippo Copletio, Belga, e Soc. Jesu, Chinensis missionis Romam misso.

Translations of Chinese treatises on pulse medicine with illustrations of hands and wrists to illustrate pulse-taking. The texts published here are different from those published by Cleyer in No. 6492. Previously publ…

1691

#6798

Lexicon medicum etymologicum.

1691

#264

Observationes circa viventia, quae in rebus non viventibus reperiuntur. Cum micrographia curiosa siue Rerum minutissimarum obseruationibus, quæ ope microscopij recognitæ ad viuum exprimuntur. His accesserunt aliquot animalium testaceorum icones non antea in lucem editae. Omnia curiosorum naturæ exploratorum vtilitati & iucunditati expressa & oblata.

Illustrates several early microscopes, including the famous microscopes of the Bolognese Joseph Campani. Contradicting Redi, Bonanni tried to show that spontaneous generation was possible in animals "without blood and…

1694

#10455

Raguaglio historico del contaggio occorso nella provincia di Bari negli anni 1690, 1691 e 1692.

Arrieta published two very early disease maps in this work showing locations of plague in the province of Bari, Italy, and his employment of troops to isolate those areas. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive a…

1717

#5232

De noxiis paludum effluviis, eorumque remediis.

Lancisi suggested that since malaria disappears after drainage it was due to some sort of poison emanating from marshes and possibly transmitted by mosquitoes. He planned a drainage scheme for marshy regions. His work…

1736

#5195

De morbis venereis libri sex.

A comprehensive book on the subject, including a careful review of the existing literature. Astruc stated that syphilis first appeared in Europe in 1493. The book was translated into English in 1737. Digital facsimile…

1743 –1745

#6799

A medicinal dictionary: Including physic, surgery, anatomy, chymistry, and botany, in all their branches relative to medicine. Together with a history of drugs; An account of their various preparations, combinations, and uses; and an introductory preface tracing the progress of physic, and explaining theories which have principally prevail'd in all ages of the world. With copper plates. 3 vols.

The largest, most exhaustive and most learned medical dictionary written in English prior to the early 19th century. Samuel Johnson wrote the dedication and some of the articles. This was Johnson’s first venture into …

1746 –1748

#12628

Dictionnaire universel de médecine, de chirurgie, de chymie, de botanique, d'anatomie, de pharmacie, d'histoire naturelle, &c. Précédé d'un discours historique sur l'origine et les progrès de la médecine. Traduit de l'anglois de M. James. Revue, corrigé & augmenté par M. Julien Busson. 6 vols.

James, it may be assumed, had little or nothing to do with this translation, because copyright between England and France was essentially non-existent at the time. In the process of supervising this large publication,…

1748

#6322

An essay upon nursing, and the management of children, from their birth to three years of age.

Cadogan’s famous essay laid down rules on the nursing, feeding, and clothing of infants, and filled a great need at a time when infant welfare was much neglected through the ignorance of those concerned. As a result o…

1753

#7800

Dictionaire anatomique suivi d'une bibliothèque anatomique et physiologique.

An anatomical dictionary with most of the entries cross referenced to related structures, followed by a very extensive bibliography of anatomical and physiological works. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.