In Latin, translated from Arabic by Gerard of Cremona, Fourteenth century
The papal library also acquired copies of standard medical works used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Portions of the twelfth-century Latin translation of Avicenna's medical encyclopedia were used as textbooks in universities, and the work as a whole served as a medical reference tool. In this copy, numerous miniatures vividly depict patient problems with which the medical practitioner was likely to be confronted. Here a patient has hemorrhoids.
Urb. lat. 241 fol. 280 recto medbio07 NAN.01
In Greek, Tenth or eleventh century
Galen's "De usu partium" (second century A.D.) was one of the most important ancient contributions to physiology and anatomy and this work greatly influenced the development of those subjects in the Renaissance. The copy shown here is one of the earliest and best manuscripts, of great significance for establishing the text. It is one of many books that came to the papal library from the libraries of the cardinals. In the fifteenth century, it belonged to Cardinal Jacopo Ammannati Piccolomini, who was a member of humanist circles in Rome.
Urb. gr. 69 fols. I verso - 1 recto medbio08 NAN.02
In Greek, Fourteenth century
The first Latin translation of the complete corpus of treatises ascribed to Hippocrates (fifth century B.C.) was an important development in Renaissance medical learning. This undertaking, accomplished at Rome by Marco Fabio Calvo (d. ca. 1527), greatly enlarged knowledge of one of the most important ancient medical writers, even though some Hippocratic books had long been available in older translations. Marco Fabio Calvo based his transcription and translation of the corpus on this fourteenth- century manuscript in the mistaken belief that it was of great antiquity.
Vat. gr. 277 fols. 10 verso-11 recto medbio09 NAN.03
In Greek, Transcribed by Marco Fabio Calvo, Rome, Completed 1512
Calvo originally planned to publish a Greek edition as well as a Latin translation of the complete Hippocratic corpus and transcribed the whole Greek text from the older manuscript [Vat. gr. 277 (medbio09)].
Vat. gr. 278 fol. 1 recto medbio10 NAN.04
In Latin, Translated by Marco Fabio Calvo, Rome, Completed 1515
Marco Fabio Calvo's Latin translation of the Hippocratic corpus was completed in 1515 and printed at Rome in 1525, by Francesco Calvo, then "apostolic printer" to the papacy. The following year Marco Fabio deposited this holograph manuscript of his Latin translation in the papal library, so that it could serve as an archetype (official text) for future editions of his work. The papal library thus still served as a library of record, as it had for Lorenzo Valla 75 years before.
Vat. lat. 4416 fols. ii verso-iii recto medbio11 NAN.05
In Italian, Rome: Ant. Salamanca et Antonio Lafreri, 1560
Valverde was one of a group of anatomists who worked in Rome in the middle years of the sixteenth century, when anatomy based on the dissection of the human cadaver was the focus of much scientific and public interest in Italy. In this work, dedicated to Amusco's patron Cardinal Juan Alvarez de Toledo, the author refers to the greater opportunities for anatomical study in Italy, including Rome, as compared to his native Spain. Sharp rivalries existed among anatomists.
Here, a muscle man holds up his own flayed skin; the accompanying text points out the independence of the illustration from that of the pioneer Andreas Vesalius and discusses the differences with the latter's teaching.
R.G. Med. II 215 fols. 63 verso-64 recto medbio12 NAN.07