Bertier - Physique des corps animés - 1755

A fascinating testimony of early Enlightenment medicine and physiology – a work standing on the threshold between classical humoral pathology and modern natural-scientific body research.

First edition. Publisher: Paris, Guérin & Delatour / Augustin Martin Lottin, 1755. XXXVI + 415 pages. Contemporary gold-tooled calfskin hardcover with rich back gilt, marble-paper flyleaves, marble edges, 17 x 10 cm.
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The rare first edition of this remarkable physiological tract dedicates itself to the fundamental mechanisms of the animal and human body and belongs to the impressive medical works of the French Enlightenment. Joseph-Étienne Bertier investigates in systematic form respiration, the circulation, muscle movement, digestion, and the effect of the “animal spirits,” developing a complex model of body functions based on experimental observations and contemporary natural-scientific insights.

What makes the work particularly interesting is its combination of classical anatomy, mechanistic physiology, and experimental argumentation. Bertier discusses questions of respiration, the effect of blood on muscle movement, and the influence of air and heat on vital processes – topics that were at the center of medical debates in the 18th century. The numerous “Experiments,” “Objections,” and “Responses” give the work almost the character of a scientific disputation and vividly document the development of modern experimental medicine.

A rare and in content highly interesting work on Enlightenment physiology – between Descartes, Boerhaave, and the emerging modern medicine.
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Leather binding rubbed, spine slightly damaged, mildly browned, overall a good copy with authentic age patina