Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 664

GUICHARD JOSEPH DU VERNEY (1648-1730) Traité de l'organe de l'ouie. Chez Estienne Michallet 1683 [24] 210 pp., 16 fold. plates. 15.8 cm.

Du Verney received his medical degree from Avignon in 1667 and came immediately to Paris where he was to find his greatest opportunities in investigation and teaching. He soon became a successful anatomical lecturer and demonstrator and in 1679 was appointed professor of anatomy and surgery at the Jardin du Roi. He was very active in anatomical research and was an excellent teacher, attracting large numbers of students to his lectures and demonstrations. His research interests included comparative anatomy and he made significant contributions to the study of the anatomy of the vascular system and circulation of blood in the lower vertebrates. The present treatise is the first scientific account of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the ear. Du Verney corrected the erroneous belief that the Eustachian tube was an avenue for breathing or hearing by showing that it was simply the channel through which air to the tympanic cavity is renewed. He correctly explained the mechanism of bone conduction and gave a clear and accurate account of the bony labyrinth. He greatly advanced knowledge in the physiology of hearing and his theory of hearing and communication of sound anticipated that of Helmholtz (see No. 1886). Du Verney also studied ear diseases and searched for scientific explanations of earache, deafness, and tinnitus. His therapy was chiefly empirical and consisted mostly of botanical remedies. The fine copperplate engravings are unsigned but are traditionally attributed to Sebastien Le Clerc (1637-1714).

See Related Record(s): 1886

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 1545; Osler 7689 (Latin ed., 1684); Waller 2670; Wellcome II, p. 506

Gift of John Martin, M.D.