Switzerland
189 entries published in Switzerland. 13 publication places.
c. 1474
#5113
De epidemia et peste.
One of the earliest works written on public health, and one of the earliest printed medical books. It was first printed in Arnaldus de Villanova’s De arte cognoscendi venena (Padua, 1473; Mantua, 1473). Above is the f…
1526
#9079
Hippocratis Coi medicorum omnium longe principis, opera: quibus maxima ex parte annorum circiter duo millia Latina caruit lingua: Graeci vero & Arabes, & prisci nostri Medici, plurimis tamen utilibus prætermissis, scripta sua illustrarunt: nunc tandem per M. Fabiu Rhauennatem, Gulielmum Copum Basiliensem, Nicolaum Leonicenu & Andream Brentium, viros doctissimos Latinate donata, ac iamprimu in lucem aedita: quo revera humano generi nihil fieri potuit salubrius.
![HIPPOCRATES, [Ἱπποκράτης; Hippocrates of Kos] (-460 – -370)](/media/portraits/50)
![ALTHAMER, Andreas [Andreas Brentius; Altheimer] (1500 – 1539)](/media/portraits/12158)
Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.
1528
#8427
Vegetii Renati Artis veterinariae, sive mulomedicinae libri quatuor, iam primum typis in lucem aediti.
The earliest surviving work on veterinary medicine, by a writer from Late Antiquity, presumably in the Western Roman Empire. Digital facsimile from BayerischeStaatsbibliothek at this link.
1529
#1959.1
Caelii Aureliani Siccensis Tardarum passionum libri V. D. Oribasii Sardi Iuliani Caesaris archiatri Euporiston lib: III. Medicinae comperi: lib: 1. Curationum lib: 1. Trochiscoru confect: lib: 1.
From a clinical point of view, the two works of Caelius Aurelianus, which were translated into Latin from Greek originals by Soranus of Ephesus that were later lost, represent the high-point of Graeco-Roman medical ac…
1530
#11083
De compositione medicamentorum... lib VII per Ioannem Guinterium Andernacum imprimum latinitate donati. Eiusdem De ponderibus & mensuris liber, D. Andrea Alciato interprete.
![GALEN, [Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; Galen of Pergamon] (129 – 216)](/media/portraits/21)
First separate edition in Latin of Galen's De compositione medicamentorum, On the Composition of medicines, translated by Johann Winter of Andernach, to which was added Galen's treatise on weights and measures transla…
1531
#5521
De peste Brittanica commentariolus vere aureus.
Schyller’s book on sweating sickness deals with the German epidemic of 1528-30.
1531
#8967
Garioponti Vetusti admodum medici ad totius corporis aegritudines remediorum praxeōn libri V. Eiusdem de febribus, atque earum symptomatis libri ii. Recens typis commissi, & multis in locis suae integritati restituti.
Digital facsimile from Bayerische StaatsBibliothek at this link.
1532
#11176
Nicolai Leoniceni ....Opuscula: quorum catalogum versa pagina indicabit. Per. D. Andream Leennium medicum, à multis quibus scatebant vitiis, repurgata atque annotatiunculis illustrata.
First edition of Leoniceno's collected works edited by Andreas Leennius, about whom little is known. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.
1533 –1534
#6974
Aetii Amideni quem alii Antiochenum vocant medici clarissimi libri XVI. tomos divisi : quorum primus & ultimus Ioan. Baptista Montano Veronensi medico, secundus Iano Cornario Zuiccauiensi, & ipso medicinae professore, interpretibus latinitate donati sunt. In quo opere cuncta quae ad curandi artem pertinent congesta sunt, ex omnibus qui usq[ue] ad eius tempora scripserant, diligentissime excerpta. Additus est index in omneis tomos copiosissimus. 3 vols.
J. B. Montanus and Janus Cornarius prepared the first edition of Aetius's collected works in Latin translation. That edition was the first to include Aetius's writings on obstetrics, which epitomized all previous know…
1533
#12591
De pulsuum scientia libellus utilis & necessarius. Theophili ... de exacta retrimentorum vesicae cognitione, commentariolus, Albano Torino interprete.
First separate, and perhaps the first complete printed edition of the Byzantine physician's De pulsibus, edited by Alban Thorer. This text, in the Galenic tradition "largely mediated through the pseudo-Galenic tract "…
1536
#46
Omnia opera Ysaac in hoc volumini contenta: cum quibusdam alijs opusculis: Liber de definitionibus. Liber de elementis. Liber dietaru[m] vniversalium: cum co[m]me[n]to Petri Hispani. Liber dietarum particularium ... Liber de vrinis cum commento eiusdem. Liber de febribus. Pantechni decem libri theorices: et decem practices: cum tractatu de gradibus medicinarum Constantini. Viaticum Ysaac quod constantinus sibi attribuit. Liber de oculis Constantini. Liber des stomacho Constantini. Liber virtutum de simplici medicina Constantini. Compendium megatechni Galeni a Constantino compositum ; Cum tabula [et] repertorio omnium operum et questionum in co[m]mentis contentarum. Edited by Andreas Turinus.
Constantine was a Muslim from North Africa who converted to Christianity. His writings were first published with those of Isaac Judaeus in the above edition which includes many separate texts. Many of the writings of …
1536
#10961
De medicamentis empiricis physicis ac rationalibus liber.... Edited by Janus Cornarius. Item Claudii Galeni libri novem nunc primum Latini facti.... Jani Cornarii.
The Gallo-Roman physician Marcellus was born in Bordeaux. He may have served as magister officiorum under Theodosius I, or may have been royal physician. Sarton (Introduction to the history of science I, 391) consider…
1538
#4963.2
De anima et vita libri tres.
Vives anticipated Bacon and Descartes in developing an empirical psychology in which the mind was to be studied both through introspection and observation of others. From his exhaustive analysis of memory he developed…
1538
#6969
Simeonis Sethi, magistri Antiochiae, Syntagma per literarum ordinem de cibariorum facultate, Lilio Gregorio Gyraldo,... interprete.
First printed edition of Seth's Byzantine encyclopedia of foods, nutrition, and diatetics from plants and animals, with Greek text and Latin translation by scholar and poet Giglio Gregorio Giraldi. Simeon Seth was an …
1539
#10165
Epistola docens venam axillarem dextri cubiti in dolore laterali secandam: & melancholium succum ex venae portae ramis ad sedem pertinentibus, purgari.
In this early study, written in the form of a letter to his friend and mentor Imperial Physician, Nicolaus Florenas, who had encouraged him to study medicine, Vesalius reported his study of the venous system of the hu…
1541
#13142
Libellus de lacte, et operibus lactariis, philologus pariter ac medicus; cum Epistola ad Iacobum Avienum de montium admiratione.
The first book on Alpinism and mountaineering. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link. English translation by H. B. D. Soulé as Conrad Gesner: On the admiration of mountains; the prefatory letter addresse…
1542
#1808
De historia stirpium commentarii.
Illustrated with full-page woodcut illustrations drawn by Albrecht Meyer, copied onto the blocks by Heinrich Füllmaurer and cut by Veit Rudolf Speckle; the artists' self-portraits appear on the final leaf. Describing …
1543
#376
Suorum de humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome.
Shortly after publishing his encyclopedic De humani corporis fabrica libri septem, Vesalius issued De humani corporis fabrica epitome, also from the press of Johannes Oporinus of Basel. This thin set of 14 unnumbered …
1543
#375
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem.
Published when the author was only 29 years old, the Fabrica revolutionized not only the science of anatomy but how it was taught. Throughout this encylopedic work on the structure and workings of the human body, Vesa…
1543
#1809
Enumeratio medicamentorum purgantium.
An index of purgatives.
1545 –1555
#6743
Bibliotheca universalis, sive catalogus omnium scriptorum locupletissimus, in tribus linguis. Latina, Graeca, and Hebraica. 3 vols. and appendix.
This was one of the first attempts at a universal bibliography. Unfortunately the section on medicine (liber xxi) was never published. William Osler used the Bibliotheca universalis as one of the models for his own Bi…
1546
#1810.1
Epistola, rationem modumque propinandi radicis Chynae decocti…
In this work on the discovery and therapeutic use of the china root (Smilax china) in the treatment of syphilis, Vesalius described the first attempt to formulate methods of identification of an exotic drug. He also o…
1549
#1793
Medicamentorum opus in sectiones quadragintaocto digestum, hactenus in Germania non uisum, omnibus tum medicis, tum seplasiarns mirum in modum utile, a Leonharto Fuchsio...
The “Antidotarium magnum” by the Byzantine physician Nicolaus Myrepsus. It was the largest strictly pharmaceutical work that had appeared up to the time of its writing (about 1270-1280); it contained more than 2,500 p…
1549
#4511.02
De cerebri morbis…
The first book devoted entirely to brain disorders, including tremor, tetanus, vertigo, epilepsy and hemicrania.
1551 –1587
#280
Historia animalium. 5 vols.
Gesner's Historia animalium is considered one of the starting points of modern zoology; it contains 4,500 pages and nearly 1,000 woodcuts, some by Albrecht Dürer. The illustrations are the first original zoological il…
1554
#3109
Medicinalium epistolarum miscellanea.
Epistle xxi, pp. 74-77, contains the first definite description of chlorosis. “De morbo virgineo”. English translation in No. 2241.
1554
#463
Ein schön lustig Trostbüchle von den Empfengknussen und Geburten der Menschen…
An improved version of Rösslin’s Swangern frawen. This contains the first true anatomical pictures in an obstetrics book. Rueff described smooth-edged forceps for delivery of a live baby, preceding Chamberlen, and a t…
1555
#377
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem.
Containing Vesalius’s final published revisions of the text, this edition is also superior for its enlarged format, improved typography and printing, better paper, larger woodcut initials, and changes to the lettering…
1555
#5562
De chirurgia scriptores optimi quique veteres et recentiores, plerique in Germania antehac non editi.
A collection made by Gesner of various surgical works by ancient and recent authors including M. A. Blondus, A. Bolognini, G. Dondi, A. Ferri, Galen, C. Gesner, J.Langius, B. Maggi, Marianus Sanctus, Oribasius, and J.…
1555
#10601
Sphygmicae artis iam mille ducentos annos perditae et desideratae libri V.
Considered the most significant work on the pulse between Galen and Harvey. The work includes what is probably the earliest graphic representation of the pulse. Struthius provided a useful mnemonic of the five simple …
1555
#13141
De raris et admirandis herbis, qvae sive qvod noctv luceant, siue alias ob causas, Lvnariae nominantur, Commentariolus : & obiter de alijs etiam rebus quae in tenebris lucent. Inseruntur & Icones quaedam herbarum nouae. Eivsdem descriptio Montis Fracti, siue Montis Pilati, iuxta Lucernam in Helvetia. His accedunt Io. Dv Chovl G. F. Lugdunensis, Pilati Montis in Gallia Descriptio. Io. Rhellicani Stockhornias, qua Stockhornus mons altissimus in Bernensium Helvetiorum agro, versibus Heroicis describitur.
Contains Gesner's second work on mountaineering, his description of the Riven Mountain, commonly called Mount Pilatus, Eivsdem descriptio Montis Fracti, siue Montis Pilati, iuxta Lucernam in Helvetia. Digital facsimil…
1556
#3049
Curationum medicinalium centuriae quatuor.
Contains (Cent. iii, curat. 70, p. 286) first recorded case of purpura as a separate entity, not associated with fever. English translation of this section in Major, Classic descriptions of disease, 3rd. ed., 1945, p.…
1556
#7087
Claudii Aeliani... opera, quae extant omnia: Graece Latineque e regione, uti versa hac pagina commemorantur... Conradi Gesneri.
![AELIANUS, Claudius [Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός] (175 – 235)](/media/portraits/10094)
First edition in print, edited by Conrad Gessner, of Aelianus's collected works, including On the nature of animals (On the characteristics of animals). Aelianus was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourish…
1556
#13252
De re metallica.
Agricola, a physician, wrote several pioneering works on physical geology, systematic minerology, and mining technology. The twelve books of his masterwork, De re metallica (On Metals), illustrated with over 270 woodc…
1557
#534.5
Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicon.
This encyclopedic chronology of portentious events in human history includes many monstrous births, both human and animal. Actual cases are uncritically mingled with mythical creatures. German translation, 1557. Engli…
1559
#7240
Michaelis Ephesii scholia, idest, brevis sed erudita atque utilis interpretatio in IIII. libros Aristotelis De Partibus Animalium. Dominico Monthesauro Veronensi interprete. Nunc primmùm [sic.] in lucem edita.
Michael of Ephesus, who completed his commentaries in or after 1138, was one of the principal Aristotelian scholars in a group organized in Constantinople by the Empress Anna Komnena. His commentary was translated int…
1561
#10271
Pharmacopoeia, medicamentorum omnium quae hodie ad publica medentium munia officinis extant, tractationem & usum ex antiquorum medicorum praescripto continens, pharmacopoeis omnibus, atque etiam iis qui opus factitant medicum, valde utilis & necessaria.
Foes is credited with coining the word pharmacopeia in the title of this work. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
1562
#6814
Prologomena in Galenum, in tres partes divisa IN: volume one of Cl [audius]Galen Pergameni [Opera] Omnia quae extant, in Latinum sermonem convers.
Prologomena in Galenum, in tres partes divisa written by physician, naturalist, and bibliographer, Conrad Gessner (Gesner), and issued in volume one of Cl [audius] Galeni Pergameni [Opera] Omnia, quae extant, in Latin…
1563
#4916
De praestigiis daemonum.
Weyer was the first European physician to take an empirical, scientific approach to the study of mental illness. At the height of the witchcraft delusion he argued that witches were mentally ill women who deserved hum…
1563
#5563
Practica der Wundartzney.
Würtz was a friend of Gessner and an admirer of Paracelsus; his book went through many editions and was translated into English, French, and Dutch. It describes the treatment of gunshot wounds, fractures, and dislocat…
1564
#6791
Dictionarium medicum.
This valuable Greek-Latin dictionary for the ancient medical writers defined and fixed a large number of anatomical terms, and exercised considerable influence on modern anatomical terminology. It was an important aid…
1565
#11489
Calculorum qui in corpore ac membris hominum innascuntur, genera XII. depicta descriptaque, cum historiis singulorum admirandis.
The first treatise to specifically on urinary calculi and gallstones, with each of the 12 chapters exploring a part of the human body where such stones are found (gall bladder, kidneys, bladder, etc.). Additionally, t…
1565
#11490
De omni rerum fossilium genere, gemmis, lapidibus, metallis, et huiusmodi, libri aliquote, plerique nunc primum editi.
A collection of eight separate tracts, most with their own title page, by seven authors, all edited, and some with commentary by Gesner. The work is relevant for the history of "natural history" for containing Kentman…
1566
#6011
Gynaeciorum, hoc est, de mulierum turn aliis, tum gravidarum, parientium et puerperarum affectibus et morbis, libri veterum ac recentiorum aliquot, partim nunc primum editi, partim multo quam antea castigatiores.
The first encyclopedia of gynecology and obstetrics, originally conceived by Conrad Gesner, who collected material for the purpose. Wolff, Gesner’s literary executor, added material and published the collection one ye…
1566
#6136
Moschionos Peri gynaikeion pathon, id est…De morbis muliebribus liber unus; cum CONARDI GESNERI… scholiis & emendationibus nun primum editus opera ac studio CASPARI WOLPHII.
The earliest text specifically for midwives, based on the teachings of Soranus, the greatest obstetrical writer of antiquity. Muscio was a pupil of Soranus. His book, the earliest copy of which is a manuscript dating …
1567
#4916.1
Von den Kranckheyten so die vernunfft berauben als da sein S. Veyts Thantz…
In this work on the “diseases that deprive man of his reason” Paracelsus anticipated the descriptive method in psychiatry, giving a purely medical account of the clinical manifestations of epilepsy, mania, and hysteri…
1567
#55
Medicae artis principes post Hippocratum et Galenum. Graeci Latinitate donati. Aretaeus, Ruffus Ephesius, Oribasius, Paul Aegineta, Aetius, Alex. Trallianus, Actuarius, Nic. Myrepsus. Latini, Corn. Celsus, Scrib. Largus, Marcell. Empiricus. Aliique praterea, quorum unius nomen ignoratur. Index non solum copiosus, sed etiam ordine artificioso omnia digest habens. Hippocra. aliquot loci cum Corn. Celsi interpretatione. Henr. Stephani de hac sua editione tetrastichon. Quaerere quos aegri per compita multa solebant, Hospita nunc per me est omnibus una domus. Prima salutiserae medicorum gratia dextrae: Sistenti medicos nonne secunda mihi? 2 vols.
MEDICAE ARTIS PRINCIPES
This collection of Roman, Late Antique, and Byzantine medical works, written after Hippocrates and Galen, was edited and published by Henri Estienne. The unusually worded title page states that it contains Latin trans…
1567
#12711
De podagra libellus incerti auctoris e graeco in latinum conversus. [Edited and translated by Marcus Musurus]. IN: Medicae artis principes post Hippocratum et Galenum. Graeci Latinitate donati. 2 vols.
This Byzantine treatise on gout underwent several editions between the 16th and 18th centuries. The translator Musurus worked with Aldus Manutius in the preparation of several editiones principes. The translation, for…
1570
#4916.2
De spectris…
This work on ghosts is one of the earliest works on psychic experiences illusions, hallucinations, and delusions. The English translation, London 1572, probably gave Shakespeare some pointers on the behavior of the gh…
1572
#10937
Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nunc primum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus. Edited by Friedrich Risner.
The Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age Alhazen made significant contributions to the principles of optics and the theory of visual perception in his Opticae thesaurus. Risner's edi…