Etienne-Jean-Pierre Housset / Jean de Grimaud / Jean-Pierre David / William Bromfield - Dissertation sur les parties sensibles du corps animal / Essai sur l'irritabilité / Observations sur - 1761-1776

Etienne-Jean-Pierre Housset. Dissertation on the sensitive parts of the animal body, followed by a memoir on the advantages provided by mercurial frictions in the treatment of some idiopathic epilepsies, with the consultations and letters related thereto; ended with two observations on the use of mercury for the cure of scorbutic and dartan (dartre). Lausanne, François Grasset, 1770, 112 pp. [Bound with] Jean-Charles-Marguerite-Guillaume de Grimaud. Essay on irritability. Avignon, Bonnet, 1776, 44 pp. [Bound with] Jean-Pierre David. Dissertation on what should be done to diminish or suppress a woman’s milk. Paris, Vallat-Lachapelle, 1763, 96 pp. [Bound with] William Bromfield. Observations on the virtues of the different species of Solanum that grow in England. Paris, Alexandre Le Prieur, 1761, xxxviii-127 pp.

A volume in-12 (170x100 mm), full morocco, spine with raised bands, title piece of morocco, red edges (binding of the period). Wear and rubbing on the boards. Interior fresh, occasional foxing.

Set of 4 medical works bound in a single volume:

- Etienne-Jean-Pierre Housset. Dissertation on the sensitive parts of the animal body:

The author examines the question of the sensibility of the parts of the animal body and seeks to specify the physiological mechanisms that render certain tissues more or less sensitive. He then develops a medical reflection on the use of mercurial frictions, which he presents as a useful treatment in certain cases of idiopathic epilepsy. The work also gathers consultations and letters intended to support his clinical observations. Finally, Housset reports two cases where mercury would have been employed successfully against scorbut and dartres.

- Jean-Charles-Marguerite-Guillaume de Grimaud. Essay on irritability

The author studies a fundamental property of living matter: the capacity of tissues to react to stimulation. Positioning itself within the eighteenth-century physiological debates, he examines in particular the relation between muscular irritability, sensitivity, and vital movement. He discusses the theories of physicians and physiologists such as Albrecht von Haller and Paul-Joseph Barthez, while defending an approach grounded in observation.

- Jean-Pierre David. Dissertation on what it is appropriate to do to diminish or suppress a woman’s milk:

The author examines medical means for diminishing or suppressing milk secretion in women when breastfeeding is impossible or contraindicated. He studies the causes of excessive milk production and the possible health consequences of its retention for maternal health. He proposes various therapeutic methods based on eighteenth-century medical practices, combining regimen, external treatments, and pharmacological remedies.

- William Bromfield. Observations on the virtues of the different species of Solanum that grow in England

The author studies the medicinal properties of several plants of the genus Solanum, in particular their possible therapeutic uses. He focuses especially on the effects of the native English species, compared with plants already used in medicine. The author describes their botanical characteristics, preparations, and indications in the treatment of various ailments.