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Book/Printed Material The Method of Medicine. Methodvs medendi certa, clara et brevis, pleraqus quae ad medicinae partes omnes, praecipuè quae ad chirurgiam requiruntur, libris III exponẽs

About this Item

Title

  • The Method of Medicine.

Other Title

  • Methodvs medendi certa, clara et brevis, pleraqus quae ad medicinae partes omnes, praecipuè quae ad chirurgiam requiruntur, libris III exponẽs

Summary

  • This book is a compendium of medical works, printed in Basel in 1541 by the shop of Heinrich Petri (1508--79), also known by his Latinized name Henricus Petrus. It includes the Latin translation of the 30th chapter of the celebrated al-Taṣrīf li man 'ajiza al-ta'līf (The arrangement of [medical knowledge] for one who is unable to compile [a manual for himself]) by the important Andalusian physician Abū al-Qāsim ibn al-'Abbās al-Zahrawī. The book also contains a four-part work concerning the treatment of wounds and lesions by Rolandus Parmensis (flourished early 13th century); a work on surgery by Rolandus's teacher, the celebrated Ruggero Frugardo (circa 1140--95); three short works by Constantinus Africanus (circa 1020-87), De humana natura, De elephantia, and De animalibus; and De purgationibus by the Paduan physician Antonius Gazius (1449--1528). Not much is known about the life of al-Zahrawī, whose name indicates that he was born in Madinat al-Zahrā, near Cordoba. According to the earliest sources he died in al-Andalus after 1009. Later biographers state that al-Zahrawī worked at the Andalusian courts of ʻAbd al-Raḥmān III, Caliph of Cordoba (reigned 912--61); Ḥakam II, Caliph of Spain (reigned 961--76); or Manṣūr ibn Abī ʻĀmir, de facto ruler of al-Andalus 978--1002. Al-Zahrawī's only surviving work is the enormous al-Taṣrīf, written in 30 chapters. Chapters one (on general principles), two (on the symptoms and treatments of diseases), and 30 (on surgery) form almost half the work. Al-Zahrawī relied on earlier sources (Paulus of Aegina, Ibn Māsawayh, Sābūr ibn Sahl, Isḥāq ibn 'Imrān, Qustā ibn Lūqā, al-Rāzī, Ibn al-Jazzār, and others), but he also drew upon his own experience as a practicing physician. Al-Taṣrīf enjoyed considerable fame in the Islamic world and in Europe. The first and second chapters were translated in the mid-13th century into Hebrew and subsequently into Latin, and appeared in Augsburg in 1519 under the title of Liber theoricae nec non practicae Alsaharavii. The 28th chapter, on "the improvement of medicines, the burning of mineral stones and the medical uses thereof," was translated into Hebrew and thence into Latin at the end of the 13th century under the title Liber Servitoris and first printed in 1471 by Nicolas Jenson. The chapter on surgery contained in this text was the first comprehensive and illustrated treatment of its subject. The author's expressed purpose was to revive the art of surgery as taught by the "ancients," the surgeons of the Hellenistic tradition. This chapter was translated into Latin at Toledo by Gerard of Cremona under the title of Liber Alsaharavi de cirurgia. It was first printed in Venice in 1497; later editions followed in 1499, 1500, 1520, 1532, and 1540.

Names

  • Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʻAbbās al-Zahrāwī, died 1013? Author.
  • Constantine, the African, approximately 1020-1087 Author.
  • Gazio, Antonio, 1449-1528 Author.
  • Petri, Heinrich, 1508-1579 Printer.
  • Rolandus, Parmensis, flourished 1264 Author.
  • Ruggero, Frugardo, approximately 1140--1195 Author.

Created / Published

  • Basel : Heinrich Petri, 1541.

Headings

  • -  Spain
  • -  950 to 1541
  • -  Blood--Circulation
  • -  Diseases
  • -  Elephantiasis
  • -  Human anatomy
  • -  Medicine, Arab
  • -  Medicine, Medieval
  • -  Nutrition
  • -  Pharmacology
  • -  Surgery

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 360 pages : vellum, with woodcut illustrations ; 29 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666859

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Abū Al-Qāsim Khalaf Ibn ʻAbbās Al-Zahrāwī, Died 1013? Author, The African Constantine, Antonio Gazio, Heinrich Petri, Parmensis Rolandus, and Frugardo Ruggero. The Method of Medicine. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1541. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666859/.

APA citation style:

Abū Al-Qāsim Khalaf Ibn ʻAbbās Al-Zahrāwī, D. 1. A., Constantine, T. A., Gazio, A., Petri, H., Rolandus, P. & Ruggero, F. (1541) The Method of Medicine. Basel: Heinrich Petri. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666859/.

MLA citation style:

Abū Al-Qāsim Khalaf Ibn ʻAbbās Al-Zahrāwī, Died 1013? Author, et al. The Method of Medicine. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1541. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666859/>.