A compendium of the anatomy of the human body : intended principally for the use of students / by Andrew Fyfe ; in two volumes ; vol. I[-II].

  • Fyfe, Andrew, 1754-1824.
Date:
1807
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A compendium of the anatomy of the human body : intended principally for the use of students / by Andrew Fyfe ; in two volumes ; vol. I[-II]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    UPENDIOUS HISTORY ANATOMY. /f&4 FROM the works-.-of Hippocrates, the pather or medicine, who flourithed about/bur hundred years be- fore the birth of Chriji, is to be colle&ed all the information of antiquity on the fu ^jeft of Anatomy. This great phyfician, whofe principal attention was directed to the fymptoms and cure of difeafes, was, neverthelefs, wel; aware of the importance of anatomical knowledge to perfection in }&it healing art: hence we find, that his works abound with anatomical fadts and ob- fervations, interfperfed with the prevailing doclrines of the day. When it is considered, how many obftacles were thrown in the way of this fcience, from climate, prejudice, and fuperftition, the perfeverance and acquirements of this great man, the orna- ment of the medical profefli ,n, cannot be fufficiently admired. He defcribes fome parts peculiar to the human body which could only be afcertained by a&ual difle£tion. The body he made to confift of folids, fluids, and fpirits j of containing and contained parts. The elementary humours he divided into four kinds ; blood, phlegm, choler or bile, and melancholy or occult bile. This was agreeable to the philofophy of the age in which he li- ved ; as likewife the notions of all bodies being compofed of earth, air, fire, and water. He never diftinguHhed betwt en nerves, ar- teries, veins, or tendons j butt calls the heart and its pericardium a powerful mufcle; he knew the aorta, vena ^ava, pulmonary arteries and veins, and entertained obfeure notions ol the ufes of the valves j but confidered the auricles as a fan. He mentions the diftributions of the arteries and veins by trunks and ramifi- cations from the heart; and afierts, that all the arteries originate from the heart. The liver was thought to be the root of the veins, the fountain of the blood ; and he fuppoied it to feparatr bile. He thought the arteries carried the fpirits ; but was en- tirely ignorant of the circulation oi the blood, and of the ufe of