Epistolae anatomicae.

Malpighi, Marcello & Fracassati, Carlo

Erscheinungsdatum: 1669

Beschreibung

Amsterdam: Apud Casparum Commelinum, 1669, 12°, (4), 260 pp., 5 Kupfertafl., Halbledereinband i.St.d.Zt.; feines Expl. Malpighi's second letter, Exercitatio epistolica de lingua, and Fracassati's first, of the same title, are addressed to Giovanni Alfonso Borelli. Originally published in 1665 under title: Tetras anatomicarum epistolarum; the 1669 edition includes De externo tactus organo, which was published separately in 1665. Carlo Fracassati (1630-1672), "Malpighi's close friend, confidant, and colleague at Bologna, was responsible for assembling these letters for publication. The work contains four letters of Malpighi and two of Fracassati on the brain, tongue, adipose tissues, and skin. The five folding plates illustrate Malpighi's microscopic investigations of the brain and tongue. Malpighi's name is celebrated in several eponymous anatomical structures in the kidney, spleen, skin, and lungs. It is in the epistle on the tongue that he described the mucosal layer beneath the epidermis which is now called the Malpighian layer. In "De omento, pinguedine, et adiposis ductibus," Malpighi reported his observation of the red blood corpuscles. Unfortunately he mistook them for globules of fat passing into the blood and it wasn't until 1674 that Leeuwenhoek gave the first accurate description of the erythrocytes." Heirs of Hippocrates Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) Anatomist, embryologist, physiologist, and microscopist, Malpighi was not only instrumental in the development of embryology and histology but was also one of the greatest microscopic anatomists. He began his studies in philosophy at Bologna in 1645 but was delayed for several years by pressing family matters. He returned to study medicine at Bologna in 1651 and received his degree two years later. He then taught for a time at Bologna and was invited to Pisa where he developed a close relationship with Borelli. He taught at Pisa for three years and returned to Bologna. He was also on the faculty at Messina for four years before coming back to Bologna in 1666 where he stayed for the remainder of his career. Malpighi made many important scientific contributions, but many authorities consider his discovery of the pulmonary circulation to be the most important. De pulmonibus observationes anatomicae was initially written in the form of two letters to Borelli at Pisa in which he described his microscopic studies of the lung of a living frog. The letters first appeared in print as a small pamphlet in 1661 and again, as here, in Bartholin's book. In the first letter, Malpighi showed that the lungs were vesicular in nature and described how the branches of the trachea terminate in the alveoli. In the final letter, he presented his description of the capillaries which he observed linking the arterial and the venous circulation. In so doing, he provided the final proof of the validity of Harvey's theories on the circulation of the blood. Frati No. 19; Heirs of Hippocrates; No. 570. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 60733

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Epistolae anatomicae.

Erscheinungsdatum: 1669

Einband: Softcover