Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 245

GARCIA DE ORTA (1501 or 2?-1568) Aromatum, et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum apud Indos nascentium historia. Ex officina Plantiniana, apud viduam, & Joannem Moretum 1593 4th ed. [1]-224 pp., illus. 16.1 cm.

Orta, a Portuguese clinician and student of materia medica, practiced and taught for a time in Lisbon, then moved to India and settled in Goa where he established a large practice and an extensive medical garden. On the basis of his research into the description, history, clinical uses, and effects of the many herbs and spices in his herbarium, he published, in 1563, Colóquios dos simples, e drogas e cousas medicinais da India. In the course of preparing the work, he described the classic symptoms of cholera and he is credited with bringing the disease to the attention of the European world. The initial printing in Portuguese was followed by several editions and translations into French, German, Italian, and Latin. The present fourth Latin edition was translated by Charles de l'Écluse (1526-1609), a noted French botanist.

See Related Record(s): 276 376

Cited references: Cushing O47 (1st Latin ed., 1567); Durling 3417; Osler 2327 (5th Latin ed., 1605); Waller 7006; Wellcome 4658

Gift of John Martin, M.D.