ALESSANDRO ACHILLINI (1463-1512). Opera omnia in unum collecta. Venice: Apud Hieronymum Scotum, 1568

Achillini graduated from Bologna in 1484 with his doctorate in both medicine and philosophy. He immediately began his advancement through the academic ranks by teaching philosophy and, after 1495, he also taught medicine. He left Bologna for Padua in 1506 because of political difficulties and returned in 1508 to teach until his death four years later.

During his lifetime he was most highly regarded as a teacher of logic and philosophy, and little attention was paid to his medical or anatomical contributions. His Opera omnia was first published in 1508. The contents of the book include: De intelligentiis, De orbibus, De universalibus, De physico auditu, De elementis, De subiecto physionomiae & chiromantiae, De subiecto medicinae, De prima potestate syllogismi, De distinctionibus and, De proportione motuum.

His works were generally on the thought and doctrine of Aristotle. In the latter tract Achillini asserts that physiognomy and chiromancy are speculative sciences and not wholly practical. It was his belief that they were subordinated to natural philosophy.

Du Verney: Research on the ear in 1683

Guichard Joseph Du Verney’s treatise of 1683 was the first scientific account of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the ear.  Du Verney corrected the erroneous belief that the Eustachian tube was an avenue for breathing or hearing by showing that it was simply the channel through which air to the tympanic cavity is renewed.  He correctly explained the mechanism of bone conduction and gave a clear and accurate account of the bony labyrinth.

Frederick Ruysch (1638-1731).  Thesaurus anatomicus.  10 pts.  1729-1737.

Rusch, a Dutch surgeon, anatomist and professor of anatomy at Leiden and Amsterdam, mastered (and probably invented) a method of minute injection of anatomical structures allowing detailed studies.  The recipe for the injected substance has been lost, however.  He made many anatomical investigations, including those of the vascular plexuses of the heart, and was the first to point out the nourishment of the fetus through the umbilical cord.  The ten parts of his Thesaurus Anatomicus are especially noteworthy, and the engraved illustrations which accompany them deserve special mention for their whimsical, almost surealistic, quality.

Le Boursier, a prominent Parisian midwife, first published the present work in 1759 without illustrations. The success of the book encouraged her to have later editions illustrated by Jean Robert (fl. 1746-1782).  The 1769 edition was the first book on midwifery to appear with plates printed in multiple colors. Robert, a pupil of Le Blon, is known to have illustrated only three books and this was his most copiously illustrated book. The finely applied colors often appear to be hand-painted rather than printed.