I. Fernelii Ambiani - Universa Medicina - 1593

Ioannis Fernelii Ambiani Universa Medicina,
Editio Quinta. Francoforti, Apud Andreae Wecheli heredes, Claudium Marnium & Ioan. Aubrium, 1593.

Volume in-8° (mm 175 × 125 alla legatura),
pp. (32), 670, (60); complete with the full-page portrait of Fernel in the frontispiece (with caption in Greek).

Legatura in pergamena floscia coeva, dorso a nervi con titolo manoscritto in gotica («Fernel. Univers. Medic.» o simile), piatti con tracce di scritture antiche.
Stato di conservazione: edge cut below the title page; signs of wear on the last pages (visible in the photos); light browning and normal signs of use for the period. Overall the specimen is complete and still very usable.

This is the fifth edition (the most complete up to that date) of the monumental Universa Medicina by Jean Fernel (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 major sections:
• Physiologia (books VII) – anatomical and functional description of the human body;
• Pathologia (books VII) – causes and nature of diseases;
• Therapeutice (books VII) – cure and remedies.

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

The 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 both collectors of ancient medicine and specialized libraries.

This fifth edition of 1593, curated and enriched compared to the previous ones, represents one of the high points of the work’s diffusion.

An interesting and complete copy.