Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 535

JOHANN JAKOB WEPFER (1620-1695) Historia cicutae aquaticae. Ex officina Episcopiana 1716 [xvi] 336 [6] 24, 20 pp., illus., front., 2 plates. 20.2 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 534

In addition to his work on apoplexy, Wepfer published a number of important works in botany, zoology, and chemistry. This work on the effects of hemlock and other poisons contributed to the doctrine of vital force, for Wepfer showed that the heart and structure of the viscera were changed by the administration of poisons. He also demonstrated that a heart devoid of blood could be kept in motion for some moments after death by the action of substances such as nux vomica tetanus (strychnine), tobacco (nicotine), and hemlock (conium).

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 974.1 (1679 ed.); Waller 10219 (1679 ed.)