Andreas Vesalius Bruxellensis: The Bloodletting Letter of 1539. An Annotated Translation and Study of the Evolution of Vesalius's Scientific Development

This short book is constructed around the first translation into English of a complete work of Vesalius, a fact which in itself distinguishes the volume. Drs, Saunders and O'Malley have drawn upon the earlier manuscript translation of Professor Charles Upson Clark. However, the authors have contributed much more than a clear rendition into English of the difficult Vesalian Latin. There is a scholarly review of the development of the theories which guided the practice of venesection, and an account of the discovery of the valves in human veins is given. Both the weighty influence of Galen on Vesalius and the latter's courage and scientific genius in correcting the Galenic tradition are clearly set forth, as is the background of medical theory and practice against which the venesection controversy occurred. The work is liberally annotated, and there is an adequate index. The meticulous scholarship of the authors has not interfered with a lucid and enthusiastic style. The book is a valuable contribution to the literature of medical history. -THOMAS R. FORBES