Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 379

GASPARE TAGLIACOZZI (1545-1599) De curtorum chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo. Apud Gasparem Bindonum, juniorem 1597 [28] 94, 95, 47 [32] pp., illus. 31.4 cm.

Tagliacozzi studied under Girolamo Cardano at Bologna and later became professor of surgery and anatomy at that institution. This work, "Concerning the surgery of the mutilated by grafting," is a classic in the history of plastic surgery and is especially noteworthy for its description of rhinoplasty. Rhinoplasty had been practiced in ancient India and, in the thirteenth century, by a family of itinerant Sicilian surgeons who kept the operation a family secret. The volume is divided into two parts: the first, "Theory of the art of plastic surgery," is about the structure, function, and physiology of the nose; and the second part, "Practice of the art," describes and illustrates the instruments and operative procedures for restoration of the nose, lip, and ear. Tagliacozzi also fully discussed the complications, such as hemorrhage and gangrene, that often occurred during these operations. The numerous full-page woodcuts are well-executed and illustrate many of the techniques described in the text. The immediate popularity of the work caused it to be pirated by another Venetian printer, and that is the edition mentioned by Osler.

Cited references: Cushing T16; Durling 4310; Garrison-Morton 5734; Osler 4079 (Venice, Meietus, 1597); Waller 9451; Wellcome 6210

Gift of John Martin, M.D.