Benjamin Bell (1749–1806), a pioneering Scottish surgeon and father of the Edinburgh school of surgery, authored A Treatise on the Hydrocele, on Sarcocele, or Cancer, and Other Diseases of the Testes (1791). Known for his rational, scientific approach to surgery, Bell also wrote the influential A System of Surgery (1783–1788). He was closely connected withContinue reading “Benjamin Bell’s cancer treatise | featured book from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Author Archives: Damien Ihrig
The invention of the stethoscope and a featured book from the John Martin Rare Book Room
This month, we highlight a book from the early 19th-century French physician who created the most iconic symbol of healthcare providers around the world. Assessing the condition of a patient in 1816, René Laënnec (1781–1826), rolled up a piece of paper to create a crude cone and proceeded to listen to the patient’s chest sounds.Continue reading “The invention of the stethoscope and a featured book from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Vegetable materia medica of the US | featured book from the John Martin Rare Book Room
We present William Paul Crillon Barton’s (1786–1856) masterwork, Vegetable materia medica of the United States (1817–1818). Barton was a well-known naval surgeon, medical botanist, artist, and professor. He was born on Nov. 17, 1786, in Philadelphia, to a family filled with people who made important contributions to every aspect of the early United States. BartonContinue reading “Vegetable materia medica of the US | featured book from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
New exhibition showcases recipes in the history of medicine
Visit Hardin Library’s new exhibit on the third floor to explore how home remedies developed into pharmacology. Starting with folks in the 16th–19th centuries, whose ailment treatments came from a trusted authority figure and consisted of any number of substances applied in any number of ways, ranging from the helpful to the ineffectual, to theContinue reading “New exhibition showcases recipes in the history of medicine”
Pioneering female physican Aletta Jacobs | Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room
This Women’s History Month, the John Martin Rare Book Room highlights a book from the pioneering 19th-century Dutch physician and activist Aletta Jacobs. Born in 1854 in the Netherlands, Jacobs chafed at the status quo and the limited educational opportunities for women in the Netherlands. She rejected the standard for Dutch girls at the time, “finishing school,”Continue reading “Pioneering female physican Aletta Jacobs | Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Notes on Johann Christian Reil, the first psychiatrist, from the John Martin Rare Book Room
Reil, was an 18th-century medical multihyphenate: physician-anatomist-physiologist. He was also the first true psychiatrist by virtue of coining the term “psychiatry” (or “psychiatrie” in German). His contributions to anatomy include the first description of the arcuate fasciculus in 1809 and the identification of anatomical features such as Reil’s finger (later known as Raynaud syndrome) and the Islands of Reil in the cerebral cortex.Continue reading “Notes on Johann Christian Reil, the first psychiatrist, from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Using snow for anesthesia | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library
BARTHOLIN, THOMAS (1616-1680). De nivis usu medico observationes variae. Printed in Hafniae [Copenhagen] by Matthias Godiche for Peter Haubold [bookseller], 1661. 16 cm tall. Born into a family of distinguished scientists and academics, Bartholin was the second of six sons of Caspar Bartholin the Elder, a prominent physician and anatomist. The Bartholin family, including Thomas’s brother ErasmusContinue reading “Using snow for anesthesia | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library”
19th Century Philippines Herbal | July 2024 Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library
BLANCO, MANUEL (1779–1845). Flora de filipinas. Printed in Manila at the Santo Tomas press, 1837. 21 cm tall. Manuel María Blanco Ramos was born on Nov. 24, 1779, in Navianos de Alba, a small village in the province of Zamora, Spain. Blanco grew up in Spain, influenced by King Charles III’s commitment to humanism andContinue reading “19th Century Philippines Herbal | July 2024 Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library”
Life in the sick room: essays | challenging gender norms for women | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room
MARTINEAU, HARRIETT (1802-1876). Life in the sick-room: Essays. Printed in Boston by L.C. Bowles and W. Crosby, 1844. 20 cm tall. Martineau was born in 1802 into a progressive Unitarian family in Norwich. Despite the societal expectations that confined her to domestic roles, Harriet’s intellect and determination were undeniable. In 1823, she challenged gender normsContinue reading “Life in the sick room: essays | challenging gender norms for women | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
In pictures: 50 years of Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
(Exhibit curated by Damien Ihrig, curator for the John Martin Rare Book Room, and Helen Spielbauer, creative coordinator, Hardin Library) 50 years ago this fall, the University of Iowa opened the Health Sciences Library, later named in 1988 after Dr. Robert C. Hardin. A former physician and professor of internal medicine, Dr. Hardin served asContinue reading “In pictures: 50 years of Hardin Library for the Health Sciences”