75/2321 [Medicine]. Ruysch, F. Alle de ontleed- genees- en heelkundige werken. Amst., Janssoons van Waesberge, 1744, 3 vols., (4),104,483; (9),490-932; (7),936-1280,(91)p., engr. frontisp., portrait, 133 (fold.) plates, 7 textills., contemp. unif. mottled calf w. double fillet borders and one gilt border on both covers, richly gilt spine in 6 compartments, 2 contrasting mor. letterpieces, gilt boardedges, marbled endpapers, large 4to.

- All vols. partly (sl.) waterstained in blank margin, occas. touching plates, mostly in vol. III. Covers sl. rubbed; sl. worn along extremities; vol. II and III letterpiece loose(ning).

= BMN I, p.65; Lindeboom, p.1704; Wellcome IV, p.597 Cf. Garisson/ Morton 389 and Hagelin, Med. Books p.97-101; Norman Libr. II, 1875: "Ruysch perfected the method of anatomical injection, which he used to illustrate the detailed structure of the vascular system and to prepare wonderfully lifelike and durable anatomical specimens. He was the first to demonstrate the occurence of blood vessels in almost all tissues of the human body, thereby destroying the Galenic belief that certain areas of the body had no vascular supply, and the first to show that blood vessels display diverse organ-specific patterns. He also investigated the valves in the lymphatic system, the bronchial arteries and the vascular plexuses of the heart, and was the first to point out the nourishment of the fetus through the umbilical cord. Ruysch's discoveries led him to claim erroneously that tissues consisted solely of vascular networks, and to deny the existence of glandular tissue. Ruysch's skill in preparing anatomical specimens remains unsurpassed even today. He made hundreds of preparations, both of individual organs and entire corpses, and exhibited them in several houses in Amsterdam; this "anatomic cabinet" became a major attraction for foreign visitors. The ten-volume Thesaurus anatomicus catalogues Ruysch's collection, which he sold to Peter the Great in 1717; the story that the collection was destroyed by Russian sailors drinking the embalming fluid is apparently apocryphal."

"However bizarre Ruysch's arrangements may have been and no matter how much they were set up with an eye to the public, he never failed to indicate the scientific importance of his preparations. The skeletons of the allegorical representations are accurately described in detail. His capacity for keen observation and his fabulous skill in injection made him the founder of eighteenth century anatomy. The illustrations are of a very high artistic merit and could almost be regarded as being precursors of surrealist art. Most of the excellent plates were engraved by Cornelis Huyberts, and a few by J. Mulder. Some of the plates are reproduced in M. Bryon, Art Fantastique (Paris, 1961)." (Hagelin). SEE ILLUSTRATION PLATE XCIX.