ASTRUC, Jean Tractatus therapeuticus et pathologicus. Venice: Thomam Bettinelli, 1748
2 works in 1. 8vo., [4], 260 pp.
Contemporary vellum, original loops preserved. A few stains and light browning, but a very good copy., First appearance of these two rare works together. The Therapeutics, in three parts, describes various formulae and suggests methods for their application. At the time the work provided an authoritative voice against ineffectual remedies. The Pathologicus methodically and clearly covers all phases of medicine and physiology, including respiration, the heart, the digestive tract, sex and contraception, and the eye, ear and nose. Astruc's comparison of a sensation to a ray of light reflected on a surface, which he called reflex, seems to have anticipated Marshall Hall's description of reflex action by more than eighty years.
$US350
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