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GALILEAN PHYSIOLOGY. First edition, exceptionally rare, of the work that introduced quantitative experimentation into biological science and founded the science of metabolism. "Through most of the 17th and 18th centuries Santorio's name was linked with that of Harvey as the greatest figure in physiology and experimental medicine because of his introduction of precision instruments for quantitative studies. He was also the founder of modern metabolic research" (Garrison and Morton 572.1). "In 1614 he published De statica medicina, a short work on the variation in weight experienced by the human body as a result of ingestion and excretion. The latter work made him famous. Filled with incisive and elliptic aphorisms, De statica medicina dazzled his contemporaries . On 9 February 1615 Santorio sent a copy of De statica medicina to Galileo. In an accompanying letter he explained that his work was based on two principles: first, Hippocrates' view that medicine is essentially the addition of what is lacking and the removal of what is superfluous; and second, experimentation. The origin of 'static medicine' was, in fact, the Hippocratic conception that health consists in the harmony of the humors . To verify this supposition, Santorio turned to quantitative experimentation. With the aid of a chair scale, he systematically observed the daily variations in the weight of his body and showed that a large part of excretion takes place invisibly through the skin and lungs (perspiration insensibilis). Moreover, he sought to determine the magnitude of this invisible excretion; its relationship to visible excretion, and its dependence on various factors, including the state of the atmosphere, diet, sleep, exercise, sexual activity, and age. Thus he invented instruments to measure ambient humidity and temperature. From this research he concluded (1) that perspiratio insensibilis, which had been known since Erasistratus but which was considered imponderable, could be determined by systematic weighing; (2) that it is, in itself, greater than all forms of sensible body excretions combined; and (3) that it is not constant but varies considerably as a function of several internal and external factors; for example, cold and sleep lessen it and fever increases it . Throughout the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth, physicians sympathetic with the doctrines of iatrophysics praised Santorio as one of the greatest innovators in physiology and practical medicine. Many scientists agreed with Baglivi that the new medicine was based on two pillars: Santorio's statics and Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood" (DSB). "Santorio's book changed European science. It had more than 84 editions in around 100 years, with translations into almost every European language, it laid the foundation for the experiments of Antoine Lavoisier and Armand Séguin" (Bigotii, 'The forgotten father of chemistry,' Chemistry World online, 14 October 2017). Santorio was a professor at Padua, and a member of Galileo's circle in Venice, which included Giovanni Francesco Sagredo and Paolo Sarpi. The only copy of this work to appear at auction in the last 50 years was the Norman copy (Christie's NY, 16 June 1998, lot 771, $63,000). Provenance: Library of M.D. Johannes Büttner, Germany. "Santorio Santorio was born March 29, 1561, in Capodistria, a pleasant little town on an island in the Adriatic, 17 miles distant from Trieste. At the time, it was the capital city of the district of Istria, hence its name. His father was Chief of Ordnance in the district and his family well to do. He was taken to Venice for his schooling and, at 14, entered the University of Padua where he studied philosophy and then medicine. He received his medical degree at 21 years of age. "Maximilian, King of Poland, wrote to the faculty of Padua in 1587 asking that they recommend to him an excellent physician. The vicar wrote back 'We have a very excellent man, name and surname, Sant. Seller Inventory # 5940
Bibliographic Details
Title: Ars de statica medicina aphorismorum ...
Publisher: Nicolo Polo, Venice
Publication Date: 1614
Edition: First edition.
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