BARTHOLIN, CASPAR.

by CASPAR Bartholin

£4,750 · Offered by Sokol Books

Important augmented and enriched edition of Caspar Bartholin’s 1611 anatomical masterpiece, published by his son Thomas Bartholin (1616-1680). The Bartholin family formed an extraordinary medical dynasty, publishing prolifically and contributing vastly to the world of medicine for generations. Bartholinsgade, a street in Copenhagen, is named after the family as well as the Bartholin Institute and a building at the University of Aarhus. Caspar Bartholin the Elder (1585-1629) was born at Malmø, then a part of Denmark. He was a child prodigy, learning to read aged three and composing Greek and Latin oratory at aged thirteen. He became professor of medicine at the University of Copenhagen, later switching to Theology following a serious illness. His work, Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis Humani, 1611, became the standard textbook on the subject of anatomy in Europe. In this, he was the first to describe the workings of the olefactory nerve. Thomas Bartholin followed his father’s footsteps, becoming a professor at the University of Copenhagen in History. He was also a prolific medical man, best known for the discovery of the lymphatic system in humans and the serious advancements he made in the theory of refrigeration anaesthesia, used when amputating major limbs. Thomas credits the invention of this technique to Marco Aurelio Severino of Naples, who used snow and ice on body parts that required anaesthetic. Thomas learned this on a trip to Naples. He was appointed by King Christ

• Binding: Hardcover

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