I. Fernelii Ambiani - Universa Medicina - 1593

Ioannes Fernelii Ambiani Universa Medicina, Fifth Edition. Frankfurt, at the heirs of Andreas Wechel, Claudius Marnius & Ioannes Aubrius, 1593.

Volume in octavo (mm 175 × 125 in the binding), pp. (32), 670, (60); complete with the full-page portrait of Fernel in the frontispiece (with Greek caption).

Contemporary soft parchment binding, spine with raised bands and manuscript title in Gothic script ("Fernel. Univers. Medic." or similar), boards with traces of ancient writing.
State of preservation: lower cut to the title page; margins with signs of wear in the final leaves (visible in the photos); scattered foxing and normal signs of use from the period. Overall a complete copy and still very usable.

This is the fifth edition (the most complete to date) of Jean Fernel’s monumental Universa Medicina (Ioannes Fernelius Ambianus, 1497–1558), personal physician to Henry II of France and one of the central figures of Renaissance medicine.

The work is divided into three large sections:
• Physiologia (Book VII) – anatomical and functional description of the human body;
• Pathologia (Book VII) – causes and nature of diseases;
• Therapeutice (Book VII) – cure and remedies.

Fernel was among the first to systematize medicine in a “modern” way, moving beyond pure Galenic empiricism and introducing concepts of rational physiology, general pathology, and therapy based on observation. His work remained a reference for over a century and contributed decisively to the birth of scientific medicine.

Complete sixteenth-century editions of Universa Medicina, especially the Frankfurt Wechel editions, are increasingly rare on the market. Copies bound in contemporary leather, complete with the portrait and in acceptable condition, are sought after by collectors of early medicine as well as by specialized libraries.

This fifth edition of 1593, carefully prepared and enriched compared with the predecessors, represents one of the high points in the dissemination of the work.

An interesting and complete copy.