Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 396

WILHELM FABRICIUS VON HILDEN (1560-1634) Opera quae extant omnia, partim ante hac excusa, partim nunc recens in lucem edita. Sumptibus Joannis Beyeri 1646 [24] 1044 [36] 297 [14] pp., illus. 33.6 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 393

Fabricius received an excellent classical education as a boy, but a series of family misfortunes left him without the means to obtain a formal medical education. As a result, he became an apprentice in the less desirable craft of surgery and subsequently received the training which prepared him for a distinguished career. Although he was a bold and accomplished operator, his writings show that he was conservative in theory, yet possessed great capacity for progress in the search for sound surgical operations. This large folio edition of his collected works includes his separately published monographs on dysentery, burns, lithotomy, and anatomy. Congenital malformations, skull fractures, carcinoma of the eye and penis, hydrocele, gangrene, mineral water baths, the concept of removing some healthy tissue along with the necrotic tissue in amputation, and a special operation for hernia are among the many topics discussed in his writings. Among the numerous instruments and appliances he designed were a bullet extractor, a tourniquet for controlling hemorrhage, a urinal for ambulatory use, and a field-chest of drugs and instruments for use by the army. Also included with Fabricius' Opera is Marco Aurelio Severino's (see No. 449) De efficaci medicinae libris tribus. Professor of anatomy and surgery at Naples, Severino became well known as a teacher and surgeon. He employed trephination, operated upon harelip, epulis, empyema, and is said to have been the first to perform a tracheotomy to relieve suffocation in diphtheria. Among his works is this important contribution in which he discusses surgical anatomy, phlebotomy, paracentesis, and cautery.

See Related Record(s): 449

Cited references: Fabricius: Waller 2908; Wellcome III, p. 4. Severino: Waller 8888

Gift of John Martin, M.D.