LIBRARY

Feldtbuch der Wundartzney

Germany, 16 C.

Gersdorff, Hans von

Hans von Gersdorff (ca. 1455-1529), Feldtbuch der Wundtartzney (German: "Field Book of Wound Medicine).   

PEOPLE

Paracelsus. The 17th cent. copy of the lost original portrait by Quentin Matsys, Flemish painter (1466–1530). Louvre, Paris. Source: wikipedia
Paracelsus, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim

Paracelsus, also known by his full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493–1541), was a Swiss-German physician, alchemist, natural philosopher, and one of the most controversial medical reformers of the Renaissance. He became famous because he challenged the authority of Avicenna, Galen, and Celsius, and the contemporary university medicine, argued that physicians should learn from direct experience, and promoted the use of chemical and mineral remedies. His importance lies especially in the connection he made between medicine and chemistry, which helped prepare the way for iatrochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and modern ideas about dosage. Britannica describes him as a physician and alchemist who “established the role of chemistry in medicine” and notes his famous surgical work Der grossen Wundartzney of 1536. 

The field-surgeon performing leg's amputation. Illustration from the Feldtbuch Der Wundarzney by Hans von Gersdorff. Source: The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard School of Medicine, USA
Gersdorff, Hans von

Hans von Gersdorff (1455-1529) was a German surgeon and medical writer who lived during the 15th and early 16th centuries. He is best known for his military surgical experience and his influential medical manual, the Feldtbuch der Wundarzney (Field Book of Wound Medicine), which became one of the most widely used surgical textbooks in medieval Europe. His work played a crucial role in shaping the field of surgery, particularly in the treatment of battlefield injuries, amputations, and wound care.

 

 

MUSEUM

Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel

Switzerland, Basel

The Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel (Pharmaziemuseum Universität Basel) is one of the largest and most important collections of historical pharmaceutical artifacts in the world, the only one of its kind in Switzerland. Its collection includes apothecary ceramics, fully preserved apothecary furniture, an alchemical laboratory, mortars, traveling apothecaries and surgical instruments, medical books, historical medicines and devices related to drug production. Museum is located in the heart of Basel's old town in the Zum Vorderen Sessel building, first mentioned in 1316. Over time, it has hosted notable figures such as Johann Amerbach, Johann Frobenius, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Hans Holbein the Younger. In 1526-1527, the renowned Theophrastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsius) worked here, and his famulus Johannes Oporinus who later published Andreas Vesalius' groundbreaking anatomy book De fabrica corporis humani as well as works of Paracelsius.

Articles

Wax anatomy model of the Head with superficial vessels and nerves
Anatomy wax model 'made in Italy'

Wax anatomical models designed to train physicians and educate the public were once innovative educational teaching aids. Some world-class museums including La Specola in Pisa, Josephinum in Vienna, Palazzo Poggi in Bologna, Science Museum in London, Semmelweis Museum in Budapest, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris are proud of their collections. This amazing craft, combining art and science, anatomy and chemistry, practical skill and theoretical knowledge, which stood at the forefront of innovation in the 17th and 18th centuries, originated and flourished in Northern Italy