Guest Post from John Martin Rare Book Room
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
FALLOPIUS, GABRIEL (1523-1562). Libelli duo, alter de ulceribus: alter de tumoribus praeter naturam [Two pamphlets, one on ulcers: the other on unnatural tumors]. Printed in Venice by Donato Bertelli, 1563.
Happy new year, everyone! I think we can all agree that 2022 was a little weird. Perhaps that is just the new normal?
Embracing this new weird normal, we decided to highlight a book this month on skin and skin diseases from a 16th-century Italian anatomist known most widely for his work on reproductive organs.
Gabriel Fallopius (aka Gabriele Fallopio) had a relatively short but incredibly impactful career. The one-time priest was a physician, anatomist, surgeon, dentist, professor, and celebrated lecturer.
Although mostly known now for the eponymous Fallopian Tubes (called "oviducts" in all other mammals), the tubes in human females through which eggs travel from the ovaries to the uterus, he was known in his own time as a student of some of the most famous physicians of the time, an excellent anatomist, and for supplying corrections to the work of Vesalius.
He was enthralled by anatomy and seemingly interested in all parts of the body. This is evidenced by the number and variety of anatomical structures named after him. Beyond anatomy, he also worked with medicinal plants and has a genus in the buckwheat family named after him.
As a physician, he is credited with creating the condom in an effort to prevent the spread of syphilis (supposedly tied off with a pink ribbon to make it more appealing for women).
Fallopius's greatest work, Observationes anatomicae, is a commentary on Vesalius's De humani corporis fabrica that attempts to correct Vesalius based on Fallopius's own observations. As you can imagine, Vesalius did not take kindly to this and attempted to publicly discredit his friend. He was unsuccessful.
However, this month we highlight one of his lesser-known works on skin and skin diseases, Libelli duo, alter de ulceribus: alter de tumoribus praeter naturam [Two pamphlets, one on ulcers: the other on unnatural tumors]. It is one of the most thorough works of its kind up to the time of its publication.
Fallopius not only describes the illnesses and their various presentations but also innovations in treatment. He suggests new techniques for the cauterization of ulcers and the removal of tumors.
The first leaf of our book looks like it was meant to be canceled (replaced with a corrected leaf), but instead, the new leaf was added and the old leaf was retained. This is somewhat unusual and very handy for folks studying the creation of this particular edition and book production, in general, at that time.
The book is broken into chapters, several for each main topic. As can be seen in the banner image above, chapter 18 of the ulcers topic was corrected by pasting a new chapter heading over the old one. Unlike the canceled first leaf, though, this is not unique to this volume. The new chapter 18 heading can be seen in multiple digitized copies.
Finally, the book has clearly been well cared for. It is in great condition and filled with marginal notes by a careful reader. It is another great example of these beautiful artifacts that combine the history of medicine, early book production, readership, and conservation practices!
Fallopius died at the (very young!) age of 39, most likely from tuberculosis. Although he practiced for less than twenty years, his impact on medicine - especially anatomy - was immense.