History of Medicine

image of white man with beard and mustache in robe

Jan 03 2019

Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De Medicina | January 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on January 3, 2019January 4, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

AULUS CORNELIUS CELSUS (25 B.C.-50 A.D.). De medicina. Venice: Philippus Pincius, for Benedictus Fontana, 1497.

Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is the oldest medical document after the Hippocratic writings. It was written about 30 A.D. De Medicina was one of the first medical books printed after printing was invented.

Celsus has left the best account of Roman medicine; he was the first important medical historian. The manuscript of the De Medicina was lost during the Middle Ages and rediscovered in Milan in 1443. Celsus was probably not a professional physician–his work seems to be a compilation of the work of others–echoing the Greeks and especially Hippocrates. Nevertheless, it is an extremely able and interesting history of medicine and surgery, including descriptions of symptoms and treatment of disease as well as descriptions of plastic surgery, goiter operations, tonsillectomies, treatment of fractures, and dental procedures.

This Celsus volume is one of few volumes in the John Martin collection which has been completely digitized. View the book online: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/jmrbr/id/6326/rec/1.

The John Martin Rare Book Room copy is in Latin and bound in Eighteenth-century half calf and floral boards.

Oct 02 2018

Guido Guidi | October 2018 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Sarah Andrews

GUIDO GUIDI (1508-1569). Chirurgia è Graeco in Latinum conversa. Paris: Excudebat Petrus Galterius, 1544

Guidi, a successful Florentine surgeon, was invited to Paris in 1542 to help the French King Francis I apply medical advances of the Italian Renaissance to French medicine. Francis appointed Guidi his personal physician and chair of surgery at the Collège de France. Upon the death of Francis I in 1547, Guidi was recalled to Italy by Cosimo I, ruler of Tuscany, and became his personal physician and professor of philosophy and medicine at Pisa.

When Guidi came to Paris, he brought with him a copy of a tenth-century Greek surgical manuscript as a gift for the French monarch. Guidi was able to complete his Latin translation and commentary on the manuscript and published this work. The book is a compilation of what was then known about treating wounds and fractures, especially war wounds. Most of the book is devoted to Hippocrates’ writings on ulcers, fistulas, and head wounds with Guidi’s commentaries and observations, and Galen’s commentaries on Hippocrates’ works on fractures and joints.

The artist of this book is thought to be Francesco Salviati and was formerly attributed to artist Francesco Primaticcio. This book is often considered to be the finest textbook of surgery printed in the 16th century.

image of bandaging head wounds from book — Guido Guidi (Florence 1509–1569 Pisa)
Chirurgia è Graeco in Latinum conversa, Vido Vidio Fiorentino interprete, 1544
French,
Printed book with 210 woodcut illustrations; Overall: 14 3/4 x 10 x 1 15/16 in. (37.4 x 25.4 x 5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947 (47.21)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/351242

You may view this book in the John Martin Rare Book Room, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. Make a gift to the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences by donating online or setting up a recurring gift with The University of Iowa Foundation.

View a digitized reproduction of this book from Gallica.

Sep 30 2018

Dotter and Gruentzig : Cardiovascular Pioneers | History of Medicine Lecture | Thursday, November 8, 5:30pm

Posted on September 30, 2018November 14, 2018 by Sarah Andrews

image of Dr. Mark, white man, glasses, suit — Dr. Allyn Mark, Emeritus Professor of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Division

The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society and Hardin Library invite you to a lecture by Dr. Allyn Mark:
Charles Dotter and Andreas Gruentzig: the Personal Stories of Two Pioneers Who Transformed the Practice of Cardiovascular Medicine

Thursday, November 8
5:30-6:30pm
Hardin Library Room 401

Using photographs and videos of “Crazy Charlie Dotter” and Andreas Gruentzig in Action, Dr. Mark tells the personal stories and pioneering discoveries that transformed radiology and cardiology in the late 20th Century. Dotter emerged as the father of interventional medicine and Gruentzig as father of interventional cardiology. Dotter and Gruentzig were colorful, charismatic and lived life on the edge.

1964 Life Magazine story on Dr. Dotter

4min. video on origins of interventional procedures

biographic sketch of Charles Dotter, includes video made by Dr. Dotter

biographic sketch of Andreas Gruentzig, includes video of first coronary angioplasty

For more information on the History of Medicine Society, or to donate, please see http://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/index.html

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program please call Janna Lawrence at 319-335-9871.

Aug 05 2018

Ring the Fire Bell: Iowa Civil War Medical Center | History of Medicine Lectures & Book Signings | September 27 & 28

Posted on August 5, 2018October 31, 2018 by Sarah Andrews

The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society invites you to book talks and signings by Charles Driscoll, MD, author of Ring the Fire Bell: The Incredible Story of an Iowa Civil War Medical Center.

Thursday, September 27, 5:30-6:30pm talk, 6:30 book signing

2117 Medical Education Research Facility (MERF)

or

Friday, September 28, 12:00-1pm, 1pm book signing
Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Conference Room, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics C-44-A GH (Elevator B to 4th Floor)

During the Civil War, Iowa provided more soldiers per capita than any other Union state and most embarked from Keokuk, Iowa, via steamboat on the Mississippi River. Many returned the same route in a broken condition.

While bullets flew in the East, the war was no less intense in the West. There was a desperate need for a medical system capable of treating sick and injured soldiers. Enter the citizens of Keokuk, the doctors of Military General Hospital #1 of the Department of the Northwest, and the University of Iowa Medical School located in Keokuk at that time. These were heroes and heroines that fulfilled the need for expert and compassionate care.

For more information on the History of Medicine Society, or to donate, please see http://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/index.html