Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 558

GERARDUS BLASIUS (1626?-1692?) Medicina universa; hygieines & therapeutices fundamenta methodo nova brevissimè exhibens. Apud Petrum vanden Berge 1665 [16] 464 [16] pp. 20.4 cm.

Blasius (or Blaes) was a Dutch anatomist and physician whose primary interest was in comparative anatomy, the field in which he made his major scientific contributions. As professor of medicine at Amsterdam, he was also a practicing physician. The present volume, one of his lesser known works, was devoted to basic hygiene and therapeutics. In it he discussed the elements of good health such as food, shelter, cleanliness, air and water, bathing, proper clothing, and temperance. He related these to the humors and animal spirits and their overall effect on the maintenance of good health. The greater portion of the book was devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of ailments of every part of the body. An introductory section outlined the general fundamentals of diagnosis and therapy. It was followed by a detailed section on the diagnosis and treatment of specific afflictions including directions for compounding medications that were often very complex.

Cited references: Wellcome II, p. 178

Gift of John Martin, M.D.