Curationum Medicinalium Amati Lusitani Medici Physici [Medical treatments, by the physician Amatus Lusitanus]. Fifth book and sixth book. Venice: ex Officina Valgrifiana, 1560. Latin.
Two sections of the important composition by the Jewish physician Amatus Lusitanus, reviewing two hundred medical cases that were treated by him. In each one of the cases, the name of the patient is noted as well as his medical history, diagnosis and recommended treatment. The books were printed as part of a series of seven sections (each of which contained a hundred medical cases), which was published throughout the 1550s.
Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568) was born in Portugal and was considered one of the most notable Jewish physicians of the 16th century. He became famous for his contribution to the identification of the function of the heart valves and indirectly, to the discovery of the blood circulation. His most important work, an encyclopedia for medical cases titled "Centuriæ", is considered an extraordinary documentation of medical knowledge in his era.
The copy before us is bound with the book: Apologia Adversus Amatum Lusitanum, by the Italian physician Pietro Andrea Mattioli. Venice: Ex officina Erasmiana, 1558.
[11], 380, [3] pp; [112] leaves, approx. 16 cm. Two leaves are missing from the beginning of the first book. Good-fair condition. Stains and creases. Open tears to several leaves, one leaf is detached. Handwritten notes and deletions on several pages (ink). Half-parchment binding, with blemishes and wear.