De venarum ostiolis.
Publisher Information: Padua: Laurentio Pasquati, 1603.
Discovery of the Valves in the Veins
De venarum ostiolis. Folio. [2], 23, [1]pp. Last leaf (Tabula VIII) in facsimile. 8 full-page engraved plates in the text (Tabula VIII in facsimile as noted). Patavia [Padua]: Ex typographia Laurentii Pasquati, 1603. 423 x 280 mm. Quarter morocco in antique style. Minor marginal worming, a few early repairs, some fraying at edges, some offsetting from plates but on the whole very good.
Very Rare first Edition. In De venarum osteolis Fabrici first described the structure, distribution and position of the valves and noted that they opposed the backflow of the blood; however, he believed erroneously that the valves did not completely close, and that their function was to slow blood flow and maintain an even distribution of blood in the body. It was left to Fabrici’s pupil William Harvey to grasp the true significance of the valves and to elucidate this discovery in De motu cordis (1627), illustrated with a drastically reduced copy of the double-page plate in De venarum osteolis showing the veins of inner surface of the arm. Franklin, “Valves in veins: An historical survey,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 21 (1927), pp. 1-33. Garrison-Morton.com 757. Norman 750.
Book Id: 46468Price: $18,500.00