Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1908

JOSEPH LEIDY (1823-1891) An elementary treatise on human anatomy. J. B. Lippincott 1861 xxiv, 17-663 pp., 392 illus. 22.7 cm.

A native Philadelphian, Leidy achieved great stature as an anatomist, natural scientist, botanist, and paleontologist. He did important work and made key discoveries in parasitology, helminthology, zoology, vertebrate paleontology, and mineralogy. Leidy possessed great artistic ability and interest in the natural sciences but began his career as a physician, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1844. In 1853, he succeeded Horner (see No. 1499) as professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and held this position until his death. He also served as professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Pennsylvania, was a surgeon during the Civil War, and was professor of natural history at Swarthmore for fifteen years, while continuing his work at the University of Pennsylvania. Many authorities consider Leidy to be the father of palentology in the Americas. He described the first North American dinosaur teeth, contributed a report on the first hadrosaur skeleton found in the United States, and wrote on fossil horses, rhinoceros, and walruses. He also published works on the parasites of the digestive tract, identified the Trichina spiralis in pork, and surmised that the hookworm he found in the cat might cause pernicious anemia in man. Leidy was a prodigious author writing over 500 books, articles, and other items. His Fresh water rhizopods of North America was a major work and remains authoritative in the field. Leidy made a number of contributions to anatomy including his research on the comparative anatomy of the liver. The present work was intended by the author to be a basic treatise on anatomy and was prepared for individuals just beginning to study the discipline. It became quite popular and was used for many years as the standard textbook on the subject. One of the useful features of the book is the extensive synonymy in the footnotes, in which Leidy provided and analyzed Latin anatomical terms used in the text. He employed his artistic skill to advantage and many of the textual illustrations were by his hand.

See Related Record(s): 1499

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 421

Gift of Robert N. Larimer, M.D