NEEDHAM, Walter.

Disquisitio anatomica de formato foetu.

London, William Godbid for Radulp Needham, 1667. 8vo, pp. [xxiv], 205, [2, blank], [15], with woodcut device on title and seven folding engraved plates; title a trifle dusty, fifth leaf dust-soiled and frayed at fore-edge, rust hole in F4 catching three letters; a crisp copy in near contemporary mottled calf, gilding and label added to spine later; cracks in joints at either end of spine. FIRST EDITION of the founding work of developmental chemical embryology, 'the first book in which chemical experiments on the developing mammalian embryo are reported, and ... contain[ing] the first practical instructions for dissections of embryos' (Needham). In this work Needham first described the solid bodies in the amniotic fluid, refuted the theory that 'uterine milk was identical with the contents of the thoracic duct, conveyed by lymphatic vessels from the the lacteals of Aselli to the uterus, instead of elsewhere; and he shows that arteries must be the vessels bringing the material to the womb' (J. Needham, A History of Embryology, pp. 158-62). He also correctly described the placenta, and gave the first really comparative account of the secondary apparatus of generation. The book is dedicated to Boyle: D'Arcy Power speaks of its excellent idiomatic Latin in the DNB. This is an excellent copy of a scarce book, usually found in poor condition.Garrison-Morton 467.2; Krivatsy 8284 (issue with p. [v] numbered 199); Parkinson & Lumb 1726; Waller 6824; Wellcome IV p. 218; Wing N411.

• GBP 2,200.00 > Andere Währungen
• Bestellnummer: SW188

• Antiquariat: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. (GREAT BRITAIN)