Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 675

STEVEN BLANKAART (1650-1702) A physical dictionary. Printed by J. D. 1684 [8] 304 (misnumbered 302) pp. 18.2 cm.

Blankaart, Dutch pharmacist, physician, and anatomist, initially practiced pharmacy and later medicine in Amsterdam. He studied medicine and philosophy at Franeker where he graduated in 1674. He was a prolific writer and was the first to edit and publish a medical journal in Holland. Blankaart is also known for his use of the injection technique to study the details of blood vessel distribution. This technique was first suggested by Leonardo da Vinci and later used by such prominent anatomists as Graaf, Swammerdam, and Ruysch. Blankaart first published Lexicon medicum Graeco-Latinum at Amsterdam in 1679. The present edition is the first English translation of his dictionary and also the first medical dictionary to be published in England. It was an immensely popular dictionary and at least twenty editions and translations are known. It remained in print until the early nineteenth century and was in active use for more than 150 years. Many of the word definitions are reminiscent of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English language (London, 1755). Most of the definitions are short and succinct, but many words such as crisis, tetanus, cupping-glass, humors, and lithotomy have lengthy definitions.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 6797; Wellcome II, p. 178

Gift of John Martin, M.D.