Opera observationum et curationum medico-chirurgicarum. Frankfurt, 1646: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE BY THE “FATHER OF GERMAN SURGERY”

First Edition, First Issue of the collected illustrated works

of the German surgeon Wilhelm Fabricius Hildanus

considered the "Father of German Surgery"

Wilhelm Fabri Von Hildens (Wilhelm Fabricius Hildanus), Guilhelmi Fabrici Hildani Opera observationum et curationum medico-chirurgicarum. [at title page] Guilhelmi Fabricij Hildani, Illustrissimi Marchionis Badensis & Hochbergensis, &c. nec non inclytæ Reipublicæ Bernensis medico-chirurgi ordinarij. Opera quæ extant omnia : partim ante hac excusa, partim nunc recens in lucem edita. Francofurti ad Moenum : Sumptibus Johannis Beyeri., M. DC. XLVI [1646].

[bound with]

Severino, Marco Aurelio. De efficaci medicina lib. III. Francofurti ad Moenum: Apud Johannem Beyerum, M. DC. XLVI [1646].

Folio (34 x 21 cm), contemporary stiff vellum binding, handwritten titles at spine, vol I: pp. [24], 1044, [20 - index]; vol II: pp. [16], 297, [15], xylographic headletters, head and tail pieces, engraved frontispiece with portraits of Fabricius Hildanus, Hippocrates and Dioscorides, signed: "S. Furck fec" in volume I; engraved title page signed "Matt. Merian Fecit", with Severino portrait, the representation of the four elements at corners, Voluptas (pleasure) and Dolor (pain) in the middle, Pharmacia (Pharmacy), with the motto Dubia Prudenter and Chirurgia (surgery) with motto Adversa fortiter, at bottom, in Vol II.

bound with

Marco Aurelio Severino treatise On Effectiveness of Medicine:

the use of ice in surgical anaesthesia

and the first use of tracheotomy to treat diphtheria

The First work contains all the major treatises by Wilhelm Fabricius Hildanus in the last and enhanced version.

The first part of the work includes the renowned Observationum et curationum chirurgicarum centuriae I–VI.

Between the late XVI and the early XVII century, medicine started to amass massive empirical patient histories in the genres of 'historia' and the 'observatio', allowing the spread of the most important medical discoveries and experiences among the scientific community, and Hildens' Observationum fits into this genre.

It contains 600 medical and surgical observations, collected in 6 Centuriae.

In 1606 his Observationum … centuria prima appeared; the second Centuria followed in 1611. By 1627 the fifth had appeared, and the last hundred were published in the present complete edition of all six Centuriae.

Each observation is illustrated by one or more case-histories, discussing the natural history of the condition and the related invented treatment.

In the case of a surgical treatment, a detailed description of the operation and the instruments used is given, and many instruments are illustrated in clear woodcuts.

Many cases were followed for years, providing a clear view of prognosis and long-term results of surgical procedures. Several observations include summaries of similar cases seen by Hildanus acquaintances and their views on treating the same condition or disease.

Within the description of the cases, Hildanus leaves a lot of space in the description of surgical procedures and instruments of his invention, including specula, forceps and hooks for polyps.

He was the first to recommend the amputation practiced in the healthy part of the limb instead of as it was done then, in the diseased part and to describe a tourniquet using a "twisting stick" or Spanish windlass. This same technique is still recognizable today, more than four centuries later, in modern military first aid instruction.

To support the research the entire body of text was alphabetically indexed into a nearly 20-page Index rerum et verborum: from Abdomen and Abortus to Urina and Vulnus. Under G, for example, are entries for Gammarum, Gangraena, Gargarismus, Genu, and so on. The 30-some entries for Gangraena, in turn, are sorted alphabetically — from "Gangraena ex abcessu" to "Gangraena ex vulneratu".

In addition to the mentioned famous work, the Observationum et curationum medico-chirurgicarum contains also the various separately published Von Hilden illustrates monographies about healthy behaviours, the benefits of SPA, dysentery, lithotomy, gangrene, congenital malformations, gynecology, skull fractures, the renowned book De combustionibus, on burns treatment, wound treatment, a case of an artficial hydrocephalus and a final collected correspondence between him and his friend and colleagues.

"This edition includes Fabri's "separately published monographs on dysentery, burns, lithotomy, and anatomy. Congenital malformations, skull fractures, carcinoma of the eye and penis, hydrocele, gangrene, mineral water baths, the concept of removing some healthy tissue along with the necrotic tissue in amputation, and a special operation for hernia are among the many topics discussed in his writings. Among the numerous instruments and appliances he designed, were a bullet extractor, a tourniquet for controlling haemorrhage, a urinal for ambulatory use, and a field-chest of drugs and instruments for use by the army." (Heirs of Hippocrates, 396).

In the same year a second issue of this work was published, with the general title mentioning both works.

The second work, De efficaci medicina lib. III, is the renowned treatise where Marco Aurelio Severino discusses his theory about surgery and medical treatment, anatomy, phlebotomy, paracentesis, and cautery.

Wilhelm Fabricius Hildanus (Düsseldorf 1560, Berna 1634), often called the "Father of German surgery", was one of the most distinguished surgeons of his day. Pupil of Cosmos Slot, barber and surgeon of the Duke of Clève, he then settled in Cologne in 1591, dedicated himself to the study of anatomy and publishing his first of many books. He can be considered the reformer of surgery in German countries.

He developed new surgical techniques and new surgical instruments. Notable are his writings on the treatment of gunshot wounds and his comprehensive work on burns entitled De combustionibus, where he first introduced a new classification system of burns (into three degrees) and a clear account of their prognosis and, most importantly, of their treatment, which was prescribed according to their severity.

He was also an excellent obstetrician and the first to extract in 1624 a sliver of iron from the cornea of a patient using a magnet, a technique in use even today.

His most important work remains Observationum et curationum chirurgicarum centuriae I–VI, the collection of over 600 cases he managed, summarized in Centuriae, including the description of the removal of a mayor's eye destroyed by a malignant melanoma.

Marco Aurelio Severino (1580 –1656) was a lecturer in Anatomy and Surgery in the Naples Studio from 1622 to 1645, as well as a doctor of practical surgery at Nosocomio degli Incurabili "hospital of the Incurables" in Naples.

Theorist and direct operator of an active surgery called by himself "del medicar crudo", he was a skilled anatomist and published the Zootomia democritea the first work of comparative anatomy.

For his theories was hampered by traditional medicine: as early as 1625 for the removal of varicose lesions He wrote: "Ho fatto per primo questo tipo di operazione in Napoli, essendo tuttavia stato contestato al principio da altri medici, che protestarono presso i Governatori e Intendenti dell'Ospedale, dato che credevano che essa potesse esporre i pazienti ad un grave rischio" [I was the first to have this type of operation in Naples, however it was initially contested by other doctors, who protested to the Governors and Intendants of the Hospital, since they believed that it could expose patients to a serious risk] (De efficaci medicina, 1646).

Evidently Severino's work was not appreciated by his colleagues, who, especially careful to soothe the pain caused by the injuries, generally refrained from attacking the disease with actions that could worsen a painful symptomatology, despite their effectiveness. On the contrary, Severino's guiding principle was to intervene immediately, when in his opinion it was clear that the pathological process showed no signs of spontaneous resolution.

Severino became well known as a teacher and surgeon. He employed trephination, operated upon harelip, epulis, empyema and, on the occasion of an epidemic of gangrenous angina, probably diphtheria, called by the Spaniards enfermedad del garratillo, which broke out in 1610, Severino applied the tracheotomy technique with the use of a cannula already proposed by Santorio Santorio.

Conditions: Small restoration at lower corners of boards, internally a perfect copy.

References: Volker Hess - J. Andrew Mendelsohn, CASE AND SERIES: MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PAPER TECHNOLOGY, 1600–190, Hist. Sci., xlviii (2010); Krivatsy 3842; Waller 2908; Wellcome III, p 4; Garrison and Morton 60.1; Heirs of Hippocrates 396.