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PLATTER, Felix (1536-1614). De corporis humani structura et usu . [Basel]: Ex officina Frobeniana, per Ambrosium Frob[enium], 1583.
PLATTER, Felix (1536-1614). De corporis humani structura et usu . [Basel]: Ex officina Frobeniana, per Ambrosium Frob[enium], 1583. 2 o (282 x 192 mm). Woodcut publisher's devices on title, BB4v (large device), and on separate title of the Liber tertius (also with portrait of the author on verso), 50 full-page engravings in text. (Some occasional pale spotting.) Contemporary vellum (endpapers renewed). Provenance : Emanuel Ursius (inscription dated 5 December 1595 on title); "Jacques M." (signature dated 1781 on front cover); Basel Public Library (inkstamp on title); Ira M. Rutkow Rutkow (pencil signature on rear flyleaf). FIRST EDITION of Platter's first book. A disciple of Eustachi, Falloppio and Vesalius, Platter was one of the foremost pathologists of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, occupying a place midway between Fernel (1497-1558) and Bonet (1620-89). He was chief physician of Basel from 1571 until his death. In this work on anatomy for medical students issued by the Froben Press, Platter freely acknowledges the superiority of Vesalius' Fabrica which had been issued from Basel by Oporinus forty years prior. At the beginning of Liber tertius Platter describes he found it necessary to have Vesalius' woodcuts re-engraved to fit the format of this book. Long, in his History of Pathology , credits Platter with performing over 300 dissections during his 57-year medical career--an astounding number if true, since the obtaining of cadavers was severely restricted by both church and secular authorities during this time. Platter's enthusiasm for dissecting is recorded in his lively and entertaining diary, kept while he was a medical student at Montpellier; according to his diary, Platter's love of dissecting even made him turn grave-robber at one point! Platter was probably the first to practice anatomic pathology, noting during post-mortem examinations that certain illnesses appeared to be caused by anatomic abnormalities. He was ahead of his time in including exact dates in his case histories, and would often include the names, sexes and occupations of his patients as well. Platter was also one of the earliest to study mental illnesses scientifically, seeking their origins in physiological rather than supernatural causes. Choulant-Frank 216.; See Garrison-Morton 3789, 4297.9, 4511.1; Heirs of Hippocrates 372; NLM/Durling 3683; Waller 7504; Wellcome 5084.