Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 114

JOHN OF ARDERNE (fl. 1307-1370) De arte phisicali et de cirurgia of Master John Arderne, surgeon of Newark, dated 1412. John Bale 1922 xii, 60 pp., col. front., 13 facsisms. 24.6 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 113

The noted British physician and surgeon, Sir D'Arcy Power (1855-1941), translated Arderne's manuscript at the request of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1922. Arderne's manuscript is largely a compendium of remedies he employed to treat the wide range of diseases that he encountered in his practice. In addition to describing the disease, he provided detailed instructions for its cure and in many cases discussed the course of a particular case. His reliance on the herbal lore of his day is evident throughout the treatise as, for example, he recommends a potion of powdered barberry seeds and Kampferia rotunda root mixed in mare's milk as the best way to kill all worms and snakes living in the body.

Cited references: Cushing A236; Garrison-Morton 5557; Osler 1832; Waller 453

Gift of John Martin, M.D.