Medical illustrations in medieval manuscripts / by Loren MacKinney.

  • MacKinney, Loren C. (Loren Carey), 1891-1963
Date:
1965
    Text p. Illus. p. B. By Surgical Operation 78 208 C. By Surgical Operation 244 82. Operation for Bladder Stones A. The Celsan Operation 80 205 B. An Improved Early-Modern Operation 81 242 83. Early-Modern Catheterization for Urinary Obstruction 81 245 84. Excising Cancer of the Penis 82 244 85. Circumcision of Christ 82 A. In a Miniature 82 245 B. In an Altar Painting 83 246 86. Removal of Haemorrhoids 83 247 87. John Arderne's Operation for Anal Fistula 84 A. Prehminary Probing 85 246 B. Operational Procedure 85 247 88. Incising a Thigh : Preparation of Herbal Medicines 86 248 89. Surgical Examination of Legs A. For Cancer 86 249 B. For Ulcers 87 248 90. Grafting a New Leg in Place of an Amputated One 87 209 IX. Orthopaedics . . . . . . . .89 Fig. 91. Reducing Dislocated Vertebrae 90 A. Reduction by Jolting on a Ladder 91 210 B. Reduction by Traction and Pressure on the Spine 92 250 C. Reduction, in the Moslem Middle Ages, by Hand- Pressure 92 249 D. Reduction by Classical-Medieval Methods 93 251 X. Obstetrics ......... 94 Fig. 92. Midwives Hastening a Slow Delivery 94 250 XI. Dentistry ......... 95 Fig. 93. Inhaling Tranquillizing Fumes for Toothache 9$ 253 XII. Bathing for Health and Diversion . . .96 Fig. 94. A. A Medical Bath 96 252 B. Mixed Nude Bathing 97 252
    Text p. Illus. p. XIII. Veterinary Medicine 99 Fig. 95. Veterinary Treatment of Dogs 99 253 XIV. A Tragic Case History, Ending in an Autopsy 100 Fig. 96. An Autopsy 100 251 Part Two. Checklist of Medical Miniatures in Extant Manuscripts . 105 Select Bibliography . . . . .186 Index ........... 255
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    Our aim has been to examine all illustrated medical manuscripts. For Europe, this has been accomplished with relative thoroughness since most illustrated manuscripts are now in the great museums and libraries of the Western World. A number of illus trated medical manuscripts in private or outlying libraries have escaped notice or have been examined in photoreproduction. Nevertheless, our coverage gives an accurate idea of the quantity and quality of illustration in pre-modern medical manuscripts. As for medical miniatures in non- medical manuscripts (for example, the famous operations by Saints Cosmas and Damian, in ecclesiastical manuscripts), only a few important items that have come to our notice have been included. These suggest rich possibilities in the realm of non-medical manuscripts as yet little explored by medical historians. In the near future we plan to investigate it intensively. Meanwhile, in Part II, we present a checklist of medical miniatures in Early Western manuscripts (including not only those written in Latin, but also in Greek, and the vernaculars) ; Islamic and other Eastern manuscripts, with a few notable exceptions, are beyond our purview. Recendy a group of American historians, after discussing the problems inherent in chronological epochs, came to one tentative conclusion that met with wide approval : the traditional triad of ancient, medieval and modern histories is obsolete. It was generally agreed that all human civilizations before the industrial-techno logical revolution that was under way by 1800, should be designated as 'ancient'; all since that change, as 'modern' or 'contemporary.' Whatever the defects in this sweeping shift in chronological nomenclature, involving the elimination of'Ancient History' (to c. A.D. 500), 'Medieval History' (c. 500 to c. 1500) and 'Modern His tory' (c. 1500 to the present), the thought pattern of uninterrupted evolution is basic in our survey of medical practice. This underlying theme is present throughout, even though we occasionally use the traditional terms, and even though our data is presented through the medium of manuscripts, chiefly from the thirteenth, four teenth and fifteenth centuries, the outstanding period of manuscript illumination. Incidentally, the miniatures presented are select examples from a collection of about 4000 microfilm frames obtained during years of search in manuscript collec tions in Eastern and Western Europe and America. The approximately 100 selections are representative of medical practice, not only in the 'Middle Ages,' during which period most of the manuscripts were copied, but also in ancient Greece and Rome, whence came, in somewhat degraded form, much of the medical practice, as well as many of the original illustrations from which the miniatures were copied. Later,