Asia

c. 512

#6816

Vienna Dioscorides. Codex Vindobonensis Med. Gr. 1.

The oldest surviving copy of Pedanius Dioscorides's treatise on medical botany and pharmacology, De materia medica, is an illuminated Byzantine manuscript produced about 512 CE. Dioscorides, a Greek physician, who may…

c. 850

#6900

The Syriac Galen palimpsest.

This ninth century palimpsest codex contains as its undertext a text of Galen's On Simple Drugs in the Syriac translation by Sergius of Reshaina. It has not yet been formally published. For further information see the…

c. 900

#6817

The Nicetas codex.

The earliest surviving illustrated surgical codex was written and illuminated in Constantinople for the Byzantine physician Niketas (Nicetas) about 900 CE. It contains 30 full-page images illustrating the commentary o…

1465

#6819

Cerrahiyyetu'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery)

In 1465, at the age of 80, Ottoman surgeon and physician Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu published in manuscript an illustrated atlas of surgery and dentistry. This was also the first medical textbook written in Turkish, proba…

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…

1563

#1815

Colóquios dos simples, e drogas he cousas mediçinais da Índia e assi dalgũas frutas achadas nella onde se tratam algũas cousas tocantes a medicina, pratica, e outras cousas boas pera saber.

The first account of Indian materia medica and the first textbook on tropical medicine written by a European. It includes a classic account of Asiatic cholera, the first account of this disease by a European. This is …

1677

#10648

Laboratorium chymicum, gehouden op het voortreffelycke Eylandt Ceylon, soo in't Animalische, Vegetabilische, als Mineralische Ryck.

The first book on the animal, vegetable and mineral medicines indigenous to Sri Lanka. Grim was a physician in the service of the VOC (the East India Company). Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1774

#6835

Kaitai Shinsho (解体新書 Kyūjitai: 解體新書,(Anatomical Tables). A translation of Johan Adam Kulmus's Ontleedkundige Tafelen by Sugita Genpaku.

The first translation of any Western medical text into Japanese. "Kaitai Shinsho represented the beginning of two epoch-making developments. First and most directly Gempaku's work set in motion the modern transformati…

1813

#6975

Materia medica of Hindoostan, and artisan’s and agriculturist’s nomenclature.

The first book in English on the materia medica of India, and a pioneering work in the field of Indian medical history. Ainslie joined the British East India Company as an assistant surgeon in 1788 and spent the next …

1813

#13214

Kaitai hatsumo [Explanation of Human Anatomy]. 5 vols.

The first Japanese exposition of the whole system of human anatomy, based on original observation. The work includes the records of three dissections performed in Kyoto in 1783, 1798, and 1802. “A Japanese treatise on…

1814

#10761

Hortus Bengalensis, or, a catalogue of the plants growing in the East India Company's Botanic Garden at Calcutta.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1818

#13075

Pharmacopoeia Geniki.

The first pharmacopeia printed in Turkey. This was a translation into Greek from Brugnatelli's Farmakopoea ad uso degli Speziali, e Medici Moderni della Repubblica Italiana. The printer in Istanbul was not identified.…

1820

#9696

Hamse-i Şanizade. Miratü'l Ebdan fi Teşrih-i Azaü'l-İnsan [About anatomy]; Usulü't Tabia [Book of physiology]; Miyaru'l-Etibba [Practice of medicine].

This illustrated compendium of anatomy, physiology, and internal medicine was first medical work in Turkish printed by letterpress in the Ottoman Empire. It was also one of the first medical works in Turkish to draw t…

1820 –1824

#10762

Flora Indica; or descriptions of Indian plants by the late William Roxburgh. Edited by William Carey, to which are added descriptions of plants recently discovered by Nathaniel Wallich. 2 vols.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1820

#13116

Mirât ul-abd fi techrīhh azâ il-insân.

The first book on anatomy and medicine printed in Turkish. The title may be translated as Miroir des corps dans l'anatomie des membres de l''homme. The work was primarily derived from European sources and included 56 …

1820

#13927

Hamse-i-Sânizade.

Written in Ottoman Turkish, and printed in Istabul, this was the first illustrated medical book printed in the Muslim world. Digital facsimile from the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek at this link.

1831

#9490

Iseki kō. (I Chi Kao). 8 vols.

A comprehensive annotated bibliography in Japanese of Chinese medical literature, including materia medica. The bibliography includes works for which the author had references, but could not locate copies. According t…

1832

#8806

Clinical illustrations of the more important diseases of Bengal, with the result of an inquiry into their pathology and treatment.

Digital facsimile from the Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive at this link.

1832

#10463

A treatise on the epidemic cholera, as it has prevailed in India; together with the reports of the medical officers, made to the medical boards of the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, for the purpose of ascertaining a successful mode of treating that destructive disease; And a critical examination of all the works that have hitherto appeared on the subject.

Corbyn mapped the history of cholera in India within British regimental stations. He included the date of each reported outbreak in a table of British regimental locations to describe the temporal progression of the d…

1832

#12667

The Aphorisms of Hippocrates, translated into Arabic by Honain ben Ishak, physician to the Caliph Motawukkul. [Edited from two MSS

1833

#8208

The Taleef shereef, or Indian materia medica translated from the original by George Playfair, Superintending Surgeon, Bengal Service. Published by The Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1835

#3738

A practical essay on the history and treatment of beriberi.

A classic account, in which the author brought together all that was known about the disease in his day.

1837

#8803

Notes on the medical topography of Calcutta.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1837

#11879

Flora de Filipinas. Según el sistema sexual de Linneo.

The first manual of Philippine botany published in the Philippines. The first two editions (1837 and 1845) were unillustrated. From 1877 to 1883 Celestine Fernandez Villar (1838-1907), together with others including A…

1840

#8465

A practical essay on some of the principal surgical diseases of India.

Includes a discussion of the Hindu method of rhinoplasty and other plastic operations. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1842

#13708

Les bains de Brousse, en Bithynie (Turquie d'Asie), avec une vue des bains et un plan des environs de Brousse.

The introduction of Western hydrotherapy to the Ottoman world. Focusing upon the hot springs of Bursa, Bernard promoted the healing effects of warm waters to the general Ottoman population. Digital facsimile from Goog…

1843

#8807

Practical observations on the principal diseases affecting the health of the European and native soldiers in the north-western provinces of India with a supplement on dysentery.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1844

#8810

Pathologia Indica, or, The anatomy of Indian diseases, medical and surgical: Based upon morbid specimens from all parts of India in the museum of the Calcutta Medical College; illustrated by detailed cases, with the prescriptions and treatment employed, and comments, physiological, practical and historical.

Significantly expanded second edition, in two parts (Calcutta: Thacker & Co., 1848). Digital facsimile of the 1848 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

1844

#13074

Pharmacopoea Castrensis Ottomano. Pharmacopée militaire Ottomane.

The first original pharmacopoeia printed in the Ottoman Empire, with an original text by the Austrian physician Karl Ambros Bernard. The text of this pharmacopeia was in French and Latin, accompanied by Italian terms.…

1845

#7169

Commentary on the Hindu system of medicine.

Wise was a physician and surgeon in the Bengal Medical Service. Digital facsimile from The Medical Heritage Library, Internet Archive, at this link.

1845

#10760

Hortus suburbanus Calcuttensis. A catalog of the plants which were cultivated in the Hon. East India Company's Botanical Garden, Calcutta and in the Serampore Botanical Garden, known as Dr. Carey's Garden, from the beginning of both establishments (1786 and 1800) to the end of August 1841; drawn up according to the Jussieuan arrangement, and mostly in conformity with the second edition (1836) of Lindsay 's Natural System of Botany.

Catalogue of the thousands of plants which were cultivated in the East India Company’s Royal Botanical Garden in Shibpur (near Calcutta, founded in 1786) and ‘Dr. William Carey’s’ botanical garden in Serampore, Bengal…

1849

#13868

An atlas of anatomical plates of the human body, with descriptive letter-press in English and Hindustani.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1850

#8808

The historical relations of ancient Hindu with Greek medicine in connection with the study of modern medical science in India: Being a general introductory lecture delivered June 1850, at the Calcutta Medical College.

Webb was surgeon in the Bengal Army, and later Professor of Anatomy at the Calcutta Medical College. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1851

#11754

A practical treatise on the treatment of the diseases of the elephant, camel, and horned cattle, with instructions for preserving their efficiency.

1851

#13313

Quan ti xin lun [New Treatise Concerning the Whole Body.]

The earliest treatise on Western medicine published in Chinese for the use of Chinese medical staff. The work primarily concerns anatomy and physiology, with most illustrations derived from Cheselden's Anatomy of the …

1854

#6833

[In Persian script] Cheragh haa rewshenaaa der asewl pezeshekea [Illumination of the fundamentals of medicine].

Issued in 1271 A. H. (1854 CE), this entirely lithographed book introduced Western anatomical illustration to Persian culture. As part of an effort to modernize medical education in Persia, medical textbooks such as M…

1854

#14061

Kitab fi tashrih beden al-insan [in Persian; English translation: Anatomy of the human body]. Lithographed text.

The first original Persian-language anatomy textbook based on western medical science, printed in a very small number of copies for the use of Polak’s Persian students. Polak, an Austrian physician, was responsible fo…

1855

#8809

Elephantiasis orientalis, and especially elephantiasis genitalis in Bengal.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1856

#14062

Kitab-i jarrahi wa yak risalah dar kahhali [in Persian; English translation: Book on surgery with a treatise on ophthalmology]. Lithographed text.

The first Persian-language surgery and ophthalmology textbook based on Western medical science. Polak based his textbook on Joseph Maximilien Chelius’s Handbuch der Chirurgie (1830) and Handbuch der Augenheilkunde (18…

1860

#8818

Remarks on the uses of some bazaar medicines, and on a few of the common indigenous plants of India, according to European practice.

At the time of publication of this work, which contained texts in both Sanskrit and English, Waring was "Physician to His Highness The Maha Rajah of Travancore." Digital facsimile of the 1860 edition from the Biodiver…

1863

#10531

Geregtelijke geneeskunde, uit het Chineesch vertaald.

Translation into Dutch of the 13th century Chinese text on forensic medicine entitled Xiyuan lu jizheng huizuan. de Grijs's translation was retranslated into German by Henry Breitenstein as Gerichtliche Medizin der Ch…

1867

#8210

Review of the history of medicine. 2 vols.

Vol. 1, Part 1: "Primitive period among the Asiatic nations," i.e. Hindus. Vol. 2, Part 1: "Ancient state of medicine among the Hindus (continued)". Part 1: "Review of the Buddhist systems of medicine." Part 3: "Revie…

1870

#11623

A manual of medical jurisprudence for India, including the outline of a history of crime against the person in India.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1871

#9655

Contributions towards the materia medica & natural history of China for the use of medical missionaries & native medical students.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

1875

#11758

Medical hints to the people of India. Eminent medical men of Asia, Africa, Europe and America, who had advanced medical science; Compiled for the use of students and for the Vydians and Hakims of India.

A compilation of biographical sketches of selected figures in medical history written by Balfour as Surgeon-General, Madras Medical Department, "for the hindu Vydian, for the muhammadan Hakim, and for the students of …

1877

#6485.91

[Charaka Samhita. Edited by Jibananda Vidyasagara.]

Sanskrit text. Authorities vary as to the date of Charaka. He is said to have lived at times varying between 800 BCE and 78 CE. The Samhita, or Sanhita, is one of the most ancient and complete systems of Hindu medicin…

1877

#10722

Leprosy in India. A report.

The first quantitative study of leprosy in India. Leprosy first appeared in India at least 2,000 years ago and continued to exist throughout the subcontinent over the succeeding centuries. Upon the establishment of th…

1877

#13781

Materia medica of the Hindus compiled from Sanskrit medical works. With a glossary of Indian plants.

1878 –1883

#7515

Les produits de la nature japonaise et chinoise: comprenant la dénomination, l'histoire et les applications aux arts, à l'industrie, à l'économie, à la médecine, etc. des substances qui dérivent des trois règnes de la nature et qui sont employées par les Japonais et les Chinois / Partie inorganique et minéralogique, contenant la description des minéraux et des substances qui dérivent du règne minéral.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

1878

#10721

Elephants and their treatment in health and disease.

Expanded from a "small" edition issued in 1873 at the request of the Conservator of Forests, British Burma to "answer the purpose of a guide for the management of those animals, in a more direct and complete form; and…