Description
Description of Bartolomeo Eustachius according to A. Bonn
These striking engravings are from the work entitled De Ontleedkundige Plaaten van B. Eustachius met eene Verklaaring Derzelve, vervaardigd onder toezicht van A. Bonn (The Anatomical Plates of B. Eustachius under the supervision of A. Bonn) published by J. B. Elwe in Amsterdam in 1798. Bartolomeo Eustachius was born to a physician of noble ancestry in San Severino in Italy in the early 1500s (possibly 1513). Eustachius was well learned in many languages and after earning a medical degree, he dedicated his life's work to understanding the human anatomy. Early in his career, Eustachius was asked to be the physician to Duke of Urbino and later the duke's brother, Cardinal Guilio della Rovere, whom he followed to Rome. While in Rome, Eustachius advanced many positions, serving as the personal physician for several cardinals and Pope Sixtus V, as well as a professor of anatomy at the Roman University. The most accepted school of thought at this time was that of Galen (AD 131-201). Yet because of Roman law prohibiting human dissection, Galen's research was based on animal dissections, leading to many errors in his human anatomy studies. The church at this time largely accepted Galen's views, and as a member of the church, Eustachius outwardly accepted these views as well. However, in his extensive research, Eustachius found many of Galen's theories incorrect. Unlike other scientists of the time, Eustachius introduced his anti-Galen research without a controversial voice. In 1574, while enroute to meet Cardinal Revore, Eustachius died. Sadly, this was before having his extensive work published. Some of his research went to family, the rest ended up in the Vatican library, where it stayed until a papal physician named Lancisi in the early 1700s discovered the work. It was finally published in 1714, again in 1744 by Petrioli and by Albinus, and lastly by A. Bonn in 1798 in Amsterdam. Had it been published during the author's lifetime, "anatomy would have attained the perfection of the 18th century two centuries earlier at least" (Lauth: wikipedia.com). Many of these prints are why Eustachius is credited with the discovery and clarification of countless anatomical facts, including information about the heart, the ear of which a valve bears his name, many muscles and organs, and more. These engravings are on fine chain-linked paper that measures ~ 9 3/4" by 15".