Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 195

NICCOLò MASSA (1489-1569) Liber de morbo Gallico. In aedibus Francisci Bindoni, ac Maphei Pasini socii impressus] 1532 [40] ll. 21.7 cm.

Massa, a graduate of Padua, taught and practiced in Venice. Perhaps his best-known work is the present treatise, of which this is an extremely rare first edition. Divided into six sections, the work, which remained popular throughout the author's lifetime, is a comprehensive description of the symptoms and effects of syphilis. Massa taught that syphilis was usually contracted by sexual intercourse, and he believed that it could also arise spontaneously without contact. In addition, he discusses the role of diet, sleep, and exercise together with the use of drugs, bloodletting, leeches, and guaiac in the treatment of syphilis.

Cited references: Cushing M178 (1536 ed.); Garrison-Morton 2365; Osler 3341 (1536 ed.); Waller 6300 (1536 ed.); Wellcome 4102

Gift of John Martin, M.D.