University Libraries

A Withering Glance at Foxglove

Withering, William (1741-1799). An Account of the foxglove, and some of its medical uses, Birmingham, 1785.

William Withering was a keen observer of plants and their medicinal uses and had already published a widely respected and comprehensive treatise on “Botanical Arrangement of all the vegetables” when this, his most famous work was printed. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh and later appointed an early physician to General Hospital, he noted the success of a complex herbal folk recipe in the treatment of “dropsy” (cardiac edema). Withering isolated the active component as the dried leaf of the foxglove (Digitalis purpura) which had been used indiscriminately (mostly as a diuretic) for centuries. It was Withering’s careful documentation and analysis of his many cases together with his instructions for preparation and dosage that introduced digitalis as a safe drug for a specific purpose. The book was written not only as a directive but as warning against the over-use of the drug which, of course, remains in use today. The exquisite hand-colored illustration of the foxglove plant included in this copy is in near mint condition.

The Gravid Uterus

William Hunter (1718-1783). Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrate. . . the anatomy of the human gravid uterus exhibited in figures. John Baskerville, Birmingham, 1774.

William Hunter, born in Scotland, was a London physician and obstetrician whose principal interest was in anatomy. Upon becoming professor of anatomy of the Society of Navy Surgeons in 1746, Hunter initiated a series of lectures on anatomy, surgery, and obstetrics which became quite popular and well-attended. In 1768, he constructed an anatomical theater and museum on Great Windmill Street where many of the foremost surgeons and anatomists of the day, including his brother John, were trained. This stunning atlas, containing life-sized steel engravings of the gravid uterus is one of the most elegant and accurate anatomical works in existence. Hunter spent more than twenty-five years preparing the atlas, employed artists to prepare the engravings an enormous expense to himself, and entrusted the printing of the work to John Baskerville, the greatest English printer of the eighteenth century. Portions of the cadavers on which the dissection was made and upon which the engravings were based remain at the University of Glasgow Anatomy Museum where they may be viewed by the public. This important work may be viewed by visiting the John Martin Rare Book Room. In addition to the images displayed here, high resolution scans of all of the plates from this work can be found by consulting Historical Anatomies on the Web, from the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine.

[Above summary adopted from Heirs of Hippocrates]

For more information about the John Martin Rare Book Room please visit the Web site at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/ or contact Ed Holtum, Assistant Director for Administrative Services and Special Collections, at 319/335-9154 or edwin-holtum@uiowa.edu.

Changing Medicine in a Heartbeat

Réné Laënnec (1781-1826). Traité de l’Auscultation Médiate , Paris, 1819.

The stethoscope is so familiar an object, it is somewhat surprising that it did not arrive on the scene until 1816. In fact, if it had not been for a fear of breaching 19th century etiquette, we might have had to wait even longer for its appearance. While the noises of the chest had long been linked to certain conditions, it was not until Réné Laënnec, a Paris physician, was confronted with a patient who, “…owing to her stoutness little information could be gathered by application of the hand and percussion. The patient’s age and sex did not permit me to resort to the kind of examination I have just described (i.e., direct application of the ear to the chest.)”. Recollecting that children often listen to noises through hollow logs, Leannec rolled up several sheets of paper to form a tube and found to his delight that he could hear better with his new invention than he could with the ear alone. After a good deal of experimenting, Leannec produced a wooden instrument with which he learned to discern the significance of the various sounds which he described in great detail. His descriptions were so keen that they retain their accuracy and authority to the present day. Laënnec published his findings in Traité de l’Auscultation Médiate in 1819 in two volumes. The copy in the John Martin Rare Book room is particularly well preserved and includes the many folding plates illustrating Laennec’s invention that quickly became the fundamental diagnostic tool we recognize today.

Click here to view larger images of Traité de l’Auscultation Médiate.

The Foundation of Immunology

Edward Jenner (1749-1823). An inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolae vaccinae, a disease…known by the name of the cow pox. London, Printed for the author by S. Low, 1798.

On the basis of an old country tradition that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox (a relatively mild disease) were not susceptible to the dreaded smallpox, Edward Jenner, an English country physician, decided to inject cowpox-infected lymph into a local boy. After the inoculation, the boy was found to be immune to smallpox and Jenner continued his experiments and summarized his finding in this epochal work published in 1798. By 1803 his work had been translated into numerous languages and his method of immunization was taken up with amazing speed, becoming almost universally adopted. The medical historian, Fielding H. Garrison has called Jenner’s work “one of the greatest triumphs in the history of medicine.” It is the foundation of all subsequent work in immunology and virology. [adopted from Heirs of Hippocrates]

“The Most Ingenious Book that I Ever Read in My Life” – Samuel Pepys

Robert Hooke (1635-1703). Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. London: J. Martyn and J. Allestry, 1665.

In 1665, Robert Hooke completed one of the most remarkable books of the last four centuries: a collection of drawings and descriptions of everyday objects as viewed through the lenses of a compound microscope. Hooke was curator of experiments for the newly formed Royal Society of London whose membership included the likes of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, Christopher Wren, and Thomas Willis; the book was published under the aegis of the Society.

Although Micrographia was not the first work to include microscopic illustrations, it was the first to provide them in quantity and rendered in such meticulous fashion. So accurate were the drawings that a few of them continued to be reprinted in textbooks for the next 200 years! The exquisite copper-plate engravings along with Hooke’s fascinating commentary made the book an instant best-seller among Europe’s intelligentsia. On January 21st, Samuel Pepys, himself an early member of the Royal Soceity, made the following entry in his diary: “Before I went to bed I sat up till two o’clock in my chamber reading of Mr. Hooke’s Microscopicall Observations, the most ingenious book that ever I read in my life.”

Micrographia was one of a myriad of accomplishments wrought by Robert Hooke who distinguished himself in physics, medicine, architecture, chemistry, and oceanography. With the possible exception of Isaac Newton, he was the greatest scientist of the 17th century.

An “Arsenal of Surgery”

Johannes Scultetus (1595-1645). Armamentarium chirurgicum. Ulm: Typis& impenis Balthasari Kühnen, 1655.

When Johannes Scultetus’s Armamentarium Chirurgicum (“Arsenal of Surgery”) was published, it was hailed as the first treatise on surgery to reflect the newfound rationalism of the 17th Century. While older authors had provided illustrated works on simple operations and devices (see: Hans von Gersdorff’s, Feldtbuch der Wunderartzney), Scultetus looked at the world of surgery afresh in keeping with the “new science” of the age.

The lengthy case descriptions are written in great detail and include dates, places, operations performed, as well as follow-up notes that often cover several weeks. The descriptions made numerous references to the first part of the book which is devoted to surgical techniques and devices, lavishly illustrated with 43 copper engravings depicting a plethora of slings, bandages, braces, scalpels, catheters, as well as the use to which they might be put. Scultetus, who was town physician of Ulm, did not live to see his work printed; it was published ten years after his death by his nephew. However, the book became a standard reference source for nearly a century after it appeared.

The Armamentarium Chirurgicum can be seen in the John Martin Rare Book Room.

For more information about the John Martin Rare Book Room please visit the Web site at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/.

Eye Surgery in the 16th Century
George Bartisch (1535-ca. 1607). Ophthalmodouleia; das is, Augendienst. [Dresen: Matthes Stoeckel], 1583. [28] 274 [83] ll., illus., port.

The mere thought of eye surgery without benefit of modern anesthesia is enough to evoke severe shuddering. Yet, for hundreds of years, various operations were performed on the eyes in this manner, including the removal of cataracts, the excision of styes and the complete removal of the eyeball. No clearer picture of sixteenth century ophthalmology exists than that presented in George Bartisch’s Ophthalmodouleia. This fascinating book is generally regarded as the first systematic work on any surgical specialty. Bartisch, lacking the financial resources to attend medical school, pursued a career in surgery (then a separate profession) instead. He eventually developed a substantial practice and was appointed oculist to the elector of Saxony in 1588. Tailoring his book to his fellow practitioners he wrote this important treatise in German rather than in Latin. In it, he provides detailed descriptions of eye injuries, diseases, medications, surgery, wound dressing, and appliances. Here he offers advice on preparing a patient for surgery:

…have him sit down in a special place on a stool or chair which has arm rests on both sides. Bind him with a towel around the body. Tie his arms on the rests with appropriate strips of material. Similarly tie his legs to the legs of the stool. Secure him carefully and fully in his body, arms, hands, and feet so that he can not shift, pull out, or move.

Although Bartisch showed great talent for observation and practicality, he remained a product of his age. In the passage below he offers the following advice:

Wearing the precious opal is useful and of value against all witchcraft of the vision and eyes. Further, the precious hyacinth stone worn on the bare skin and looked at often will be good against witchcraft of the eyes. Similarly when one wears angelica root on his body, that will serve well against all witchcraft.

Most striking, however, are the vivid woodcuts that illustrate eye anatomy as well as contemporary techniques and procedures. Some of the illustrations make use of movable flaps to assist in teaching, a novel technique at the time.

[translated passages from Ophthalmodouleia, an English translation by Donald L. Blanchard, 1996]
Click here for larger images.

For more information about the John Martin Rare Book Room please visit the Web site at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/ or contact Ed Holtum, Assistant Director for Administrative Services and Special Collections, at 319/335-9154 or edwin-holtum@uiowa.edu.

A “Miserable Little Book”

William Harvey’s De Motu Cordis (“On the Motion of the Heart and Blood”)

During an interview conducted a decade ago, Dr. John Martin referred to William Harvey’s De Motu Cordis (“On the Motion of the Heart and Blood”) as “a miserable little book…only 68 pages, printed on terrible paper with only one illustration and written in poor Latin.” He went on to add, however, that most historians believe the book to be the most important single work in the history of medicine. Harvey wrote the work with great reluctance in 1628 after years of soul searching. The unassuming English physician and anatomist was afraid that his radical notion would ostracize him from his colleagues and hurt his practice. He was right on both counts but lived to see his idea gain full acceptance and his name revered.

Harvey had the temerity to claim and demonstrate that blood actually traveled through the body in a circuit—that the same blood that was pumped from the heart, returned to the heart. Harvey measured the volume of blood expelled from the heart and knew that the organs were incapable of absorbing so large an amount of fluid—“Since it all flows past in so short a time, it must be made to flow in a circle.” In making his measurements, Harvey not only proved his thesis but also ushered in the era of experimental physiology. Harvey knew the idea was revolutionary and, “…so strange and undreamed of, that not only do I fear danger to myself from the malice of a few, but I dread lest I have all men as enemies, so much does habit or doctrine once absorbed, driving deeply its roots, become second nature… But now the die is cast; my hope is in the love of truth and in the integrity of intelligence.”

The John Martin Rare Book Room is one of a handful of U.S. libraries to own a copy of the first edition of Harvey’s monumental work. Purchased only a few years before Dr. Martin’s death in 1996, the fragile little book went through two years of painstaking preservation before it was placed on the shelves and made accessible to visitors to the room.

Click here for larger images.

[quoted translated passages from Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis… An English translation with annotations by Chauncey D. Leake, 3rd edition, 1949.]

For more information about the John Martin Rare Book Room please visit the Web site at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/ or contact Ed Holtum, Assistant Director for Administrative Services and Special Collections, at 319/335-9154 or edwin-holtum@uiowa.edu.