This is supposed to have
been a tracheotomy, and if so, it is the first in the fourteen centuries
that had elapsed since the days of Antyllus.(3) There are other
important cases which show that he was a dexterous and fearless surgeon.
But the special interest of the work for us is that, for the first time
in modern literature, we have reports of post-mortem examinations made
specifically with a view to finding out the exact cause of death. Among
the 111 cases, there are post-mortem records of cases of gallstones,
abscess of the mesentery, thrombosis of the mesenteric veins, several
cases of heart disease, senile gangrene and one of cor villosum. From no
other book do we get so good an idea of a practitioner's experience at
this period; the notes are plain and straightforward, and singularly
free from all theoretical and therapeutic vagaries. He gives several
remarkable instances of faith healing.
(2) De abditis nonnullis ac mirandis morborum et sanationum
causis. 8th, Florence, Gandhi, 1507.
(3) Possibly it was only a case of angina Ludovici, or
retro-pharyngeal abscess.
To know accurately the anatomical changes that take place in disease is
of importance both for diagnosis and for treatment.
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