history of medicine

3 men playing with balls in renaissance times

Apr 13 2020

Girolamo Mercuriale | Art of Gymnastics | April 2020 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on April 13, 2020July 8, 2020 by Sarah Andrews

oil painting of man seated, holding book from Renaissance era — Girolamo Mercuriale

GIROLAMO MERCURIALE (1530-1606) De arte gymnastica libri sex. Apud Juntas 1587 3rd ed. 3, 308 [27] pp. illus. 23.6 cm .[The Art of Gymnastics, volume six in Latin].

Mercuriale, professor of medicine at Bologna and Pisa, is best know for this masterwork, first published in 1569.

De arte gymnastica was the first complete text on gymnastics and stresses the importance that all forms of exercise have in maintaining good health. Relying heavily on ancient practices, this work is an excellent compendium of physical therapy of earlier times. Mercuriale describes ancient gymnasia and baths and discusses mild exercises such as dancing as well as more strenuous pursuits such as wrestling and boxing. He gives consideration to the health benefits of proper exercise and concludes the book with a section of therapeutic exercises.

University of Iowa affiliates may view 1978 reprint version online

An English translation of this book can be found in De arte gymnastica. Critical edition by Concetta Pennuto; English translation by Vivian Nutton. Latin and English on facing pages; critical matter in English or Italian. Firenze: L.S. Olschki, 2008. ISBN: 9788822258045; 8822258045. University of Iowa affiliates may request this title via Interlibrary Loan.

Thanks to Emeritus Professor Paul Greenough for suggestions to add translation information to the newsletters.

Like the rest of the University of Iowa Libraries, the John Martin Rare Book Room and the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences are physically closed. Much of Hardin Library’s current collection is available online, and Library staff continue to work virtually, assisting our users by email, Zoom, and other electronic means.

We are also mailing physical books to our users, when possible. These circumstances mean that the Rare Book Room’s collection is currently unavailable, although we encourage you to explore the digital exhibits, illustrations, and books available through the website at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/

Thank you for your support and interest in the John Martin Rare Book Room.

Mar 05 2020

CANCELLED |2020 Open House | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | Black Plague | March 26

Posted on March 5, 2020March 17, 2020 by Sarah Andrews

The 2020 John Martin Rare Book Room Open House has been cancelled. This event will not be rescheduled.

Please see our online exhibit: The Black Death: The Plague, 1331-1770

image of fire burning in street during plague — A street during the plague in London with a death cart a Credit: Wellcome Library, London.

Dec 27 2019

Lower Pioneer of Experimental Physiology | December 2019 Notes from The John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on December 27, 2019December 30, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

RICHARD LOWER (1631-1691). Tractatus de corde. Amsterdam: Apud Danielem Elzevirium, 1669. [16] 232 pp

Richard Lower was one of the foremost English physiologists of the seventeenth century. Soon after receiving his M.D. degree in 1665, Lower relocated to London. He quickly acquired a large practice, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and later a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Lower was an ardent supporter of Harvey, and this treatise is the first important work on cardiac physiology to appear after the work of Harvey.

In this book, Lower first described many finer structures of the heart, including the scroll-like nature of the musculature. He discussed the physiology and mechanism of the heart and of respiration, described his experiments on transfusion, and gave an accurate description of tricuspid valve endocarditis. His chief contributions included his concept of the heart’s musculature, his explanation of the muscular nature of the heart beat, and his proof that the dark venous blood becomes bright red on passing through the lungs by virtue of being brought into contact with air in the lungs.

You may view this book in the John Martin Rare Book Room, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.

By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/7d/a2/9faa72e8bc76def50f7d76be6111.jpg
Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0019687.html
Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-01): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pm7gnnfw CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, Link

Apr 15 2019

History of Medicine Society Presentations and Events | September 2019-April 2020

Posted on April 15, 2019April 16, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

University of Iowa History of Medicine Society Presentations and Events 2019-2020
All events open to the public.

Thursday, September 26, 5:30-6:30pm, 2117 MERF
Harold Adams, Professor, Neurology, University of Iowa
Stroke and the American Presidency

Thursday, October 24, 5:30-6:30pm, Kelch Conference Room, CBRB
Leslie Schwalm, Profssor, History; Chair, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa
Black Bodies, Medical Sciences and the Age of Emancipation

Thursday, November 21, 5:30-6:30pm, 2117 MERF
Dinesh Gyawali, Assistant Professor, Physiology, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA
Ayurvedic Medicine

Thursday, January 23, 5:30-6:30pm, 2117 MERF
Marygrace Elson, Clinical Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa
History of the Induction of Labor

Thursday, February 27, 5:30-6:30pm, 2117 MERF
James Bass, Freelance Editor/Writer
History of the University of Iowa Psychiatry Department

Thursday, March 26, 4:00-7:00pm, 401 HLHS
Open House in the John Martin Rare Book Room

Friday, April 24, 6:00-9:00pm, History of Medicine Society Banquet
Marie Jenkins Schwartz, Emeritus Professor, History, University of Rhode Island
Enslaved Women, Slaveholders, and Doctors: A Peculiar Medical Entanglement

Dr Laveran; man with spectacles and high color

Apr 05 2019

Malaria Discovered by Laveran | April 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on April 5, 2019May 1, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

CHARLES LOUIS ALPHONSE LAVERAN (1845-1922). Traité du paludisme. Paris: Masson, 1898.

After graduating from the University of Strasbourg in 1867, Laveran became an army physician like his well-known father. While stationed at Constantine in Algeria, he discovered the malaria parasite which he named Oscillatia malariae. One of the great discoveries of modern medicine, it was announced in 1880.

Laveran later served as professor of military hygiene at Val de Grâce and, resigning from the army, went to the Pasteur Institute where he devoted the remainder of his life to research and experimentation in tropical medicine and parasitology. He received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1907.

Traité du paludisme is the last of four separate treatises on malaria published by Laveran.

He summarizes the long history of the study of malaria;
Describes his own discovery of the malaria parasite as well as its mosquito carrier, and
Places considerable emphasis on the importance and necessity of draining marshes and stagnant bodies of water.
He also covers the clinical, pathological, and therapeutic aspects of malaria and concludes with material on related parasitic diseases and problems yet to be solved.

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.

Scanned University of California copy

Feb 20 2019

Judicial Astrology | Al-Qabisi | February 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on February 20, 2019April 19, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

ABD AL-ʻAZĪZ IBN ʻUTHMĀN (fl. 950 – d. 967) AND Danck, Joannes fl. 1331. Libellus ysagogicus Abdilazi, id est servi gloriosi Dei... 1485

Abu al-Saqr Abd al-Aziz Ibn Uthman Ibn Ali al-Qabisi l-Mawsili al-Hashimi, generally known as Al-Qabisi, (Latinised as Alchabitius or Alcabitius), and sometimes known as Alchabiz, Abdelazys, Abdilaziz ‘Abd al-Azîz, عبدالعزيز القبيصي) was an Arab astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician.

Al-Qabisi is best known for his treatise on judicial astrology, Introduction to the Art of Judgments of the Stars. This work survives in at least twenty-five Arabic manuscripts, and over two hundred manuscripts of its Latin translation, with twelve printed editions of the Latin work between 1473 and 1521. The Arabic text has received at least three Latin translations, which attracted several commentaries and were, in turn, translated into other European languages.

The 1473 copy, and others up until 1521, features writing about Al-Qabisi by John of Saxony. The rare 3rd edition (1473) of this classic scientific work recognized the authority of Ptolmy’s Almagest. The present work is edited by Bartholomaeus Alten. These early printed editions of Alchabitius’ “principle surviving treatise, a tenth century Arabic introduction to Astrology” are almost unprocurable. The book includes attractive large and smaller, ornamental initials, white on black.

copy of Al-Qabisi’s work in the John Martin Rare Book Room

View a digital copy of 1512 version owned by Qatar National Library

Jan 11 2019

Moveable Medicine | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | Annual Open House | Thursday, March 28, 4-7pm

Posted on January 11, 2019April 19, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

Moveable Medicine : A look at flap books from the John Martin Rare Book Room collection

Thursday, March 28th
4-7 pm

John Martin Rare Book Room
4th floor of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences

Join us to learn the history and importance of flap books throughout medical history. Discover the doctors, authors, and artists that created and shared these beautiful and delicate works.

Leaf through, lift the flaps, and look inside these pieces from the collection to feel like a surgeon as you dissect, explore, and discover the beauty of anatomy.

This exhibit features intricate books, fugitive sheets, and manikins from the collection that have been used to teach both medical students and the public about the composition of the human body for centuries!

Exhibit curated by Donna Hirst and Lora Wegener.

Books featured in this exhibit include:

Interiorum corporis humani partium viva delineatio [Legend above male]. Perutilis anatomes interiorum mulieris partium cognitio. . . . [Legend above female].[Paris: Veneunt apud Joannem Ruellem, commorantem in vico Jacobaeo, sub signo Caudae Vulpinae, 1539]. I58 1539

ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564). De humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome.Basel: [Ex officina Joannis Oporini, 1543]. fQM21. V425 1543

GEORGE BARTISCH (1535-ca. 1607). Ophthalmodouleia; das ist, Augendienst.[Dresden: Matthes Stöckel], 1583. fRE41. B3 1583

JOHANN REMMELIN (1583-1632). Catoptrum microcosmicum. Augsburg: Typis Davidis Francki, 1619. fQM21 .R45 1619

JOHANN REMMELIN (1583-1632). Catoptrum microcosmicum. Facsimile. Augsburg: Typis Davidis Francki, 1619. Facsimile of the three flap illustrations created by Alice Phillips, University of Iowa. fQM21 .R45 1619 suppl

JOHANN REMMELIN (1583-1632). Anathomie du corps humain. Paris: Chez Gerard Jollain, [ca. 1650]. fQM21 .R44

JOHANN REMMELIN (1583-1632) AND Lucas Kilian (engraver) (1579-1637). Kleiner welt spiegel, das ist, abbildung göttlicher schöpffung an dess menschen leib : mit beygesetzer schrifftlicher Erklärung : so wo zu Gottes Weissheit : als dess menschen selbst erkandtnuss dienend [Ulm]: 1661. fQM21 .R45 1661

CHRISTOPH VON HELLWIG (1663-1721) AND Johann Heinrich Werner( . Nosce te ipsum, vel, Anatomicum vivum, oder: Kurtz gefastes doch richtig gestelltes anatomisches Werck:, 1716. fQM21 .H45 1716

EDWARD WILLIAM TUSON (1802-1865). Myology. 2nd ed. London: Callow and Wilson, 1828. fQM151 .T88 1828

EDWARD WILLIAM TUSON (1802-1865). A supplement to Myology : containing the arteries, veins, nerves, and lymphatics of the human body, the abdominal & thoracic viscera, the ear and eye, the brain, and the gravid uterus, with the fœtal circulation. 2nd Edition London: Callow & Wilson, 1828. fQM151 .T89 1828

FREDERICK HOLLICK (1818-1900). Outlines of anatomy & physiology: illustrated by a new dissected plate of the human organization. Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson, 1846. fQM31 .H6

(GEORGE) SPRATT (ca. 1784-1840). Obstetric tables : comprising graphic illustrations, with descriptions and practical remarks : exhibiting on dissected plates many important subjects in midwifery. Philadelphia: James A. Bill, 1850 and 1948 edition. fRG520 .S76 1850

ROBERT KNOX (1791-1862). Man, his structure and physiology : popularly explained and demonstrated. 2nd ed. London ; New York: H. Bailliere, 1858. QM23 .K56 1858

GUSTAF JOSEPH (G.J.) WITKOWSKI (1844-1923). A movable atlas showing the structure and functions of the brain, the cerebellum and medulla oblongata.fQM455 .W5713 1874

W. (DAVID WILSON) GRAHAM (1845-1925). Physicians’ anatomical aid: a manikin of superimposed diagramatic plates : designed to assist in surgery diagnoses and general practice. 1888. fQM33 .P49 1888

HENRY MUNSON LYMAN (1835-1904). The practical home doctor. Rev. & enl. ed. Chicago, IL: America Publishing Co., 1907. RC81 .P73 1907

HUBERT ELWYN JONES BISS (1872-1909). The anatomy and physiology of the female body. 3rd ed. London, 1928. fQM25.B57 1928

PETER C. KRONFELD (1899-1980). The human eye in anatomical transparencies. Explanatory text: Peter C. Kronfeld … 1944. K87

STEPHEN LUCIAN POLYAK (1889-1955). The human ear in anatomical transparencies. 1946. fQM507 .P6

Jan 08 2019

Robert Knox | Man, his structure and physiology | March 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Posted on January 8, 2019April 19, 2019 by Sarah Andrews

ROBERT KNOX (1791-1862). Man, his structure and physiology : popularly explained and demonstrated. 2nd ed. London ; New York: H. Bailliere, 1858.

lithograph of Robert Knox lecturing with books on stand — Robert Knox lithograph from Wellcome Trust

This popular introduction to anatomy and physiology was written by the noted – if somewhat infamous – Edinburgh anatomist Robert Knox. Knox believed that a knowledge of human structure and physiology was vital, forming the basis for a better understanding of the structure and nature of all living bodies.

He hoped that this elementary yet detailed introduction would encourage the reader to pursue further study in not only human anatomy, but also in the field of zoology. One of the best and most enthusiastic teachers of anatomy during the 19th century, Knox’s emphasis upon practical dissection led to his indiscreet and notorious association with the Edinburgh ‘resurrectionists’, Burke and Hare. When their crimes came to light, he was implicated, savagely attacked in the literature of the day, and his effigy was burnt by the populace.

Although exonerated by Burke, an influential committee of his peers accused him of acting incautiously and failing to ensure that his assistants properly vetted their cadaver suppliers. The episode haunted him and tarnished the rest of his career. He then turned his attention to ethnology and anthropology, and found some success in these fields.

View a digitized copy of the original edition of this work at the Internet Archive

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, 2019April 19, 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.

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

Estes House, a hotel in Keokuk, Iowa was converted into an army hospital for soldiers of the Civil War, from April 17, 1862 to October 1, 1865.

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.

The University of Iowa Libraries

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Tag: history of medicine

Girolamo Mercuriale | Art of Gymnastics | April 2020 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

CANCELLED |2020 Open House | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | Black Plague | March 26

Lower Pioneer of Experimental Physiology | December 2019 Notes from The John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/7d/a2/9faa72e8bc76def50f7d76be6111.jpg
Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0019687.html
Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-01): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pm7gnnfw CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, Link

History of Medicine Society Presentations and Events | September 2019-April 2020

Malaria Discovered by Laveran | April 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Judicial Astrology | Al-Qabisi | February 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

Moveable Medicine | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | Annual Open House | Thursday, March 28, 4-7pm

Robert Knox | Man, his structure and physiology | March 2019 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

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

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

By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/7d/a2/9faa72e8bc76def50f7d76be6111.jpg Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0019687.html Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-01): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pm7gnnfw CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, Link

By https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/7d/a2/9faa72e8bc76def50f7d76be6111.jpg
Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0019687.html
Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-01): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pm7gnnfw CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, Link