Christopher Wren and Blood Circulation
Richard de Grijs Sydney, Australia Daniel Vuillermin Beijing, China An early instance of blood transfusion from lamb to man. (Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0) “A young man of marvellous gifts who, when not yet sixteen years of age, advanced astronomy, gnomonics, statics, and mechanics by his distinguished discoveries, and from then on continues […]
Measure of the heart: Santorio Santorio and the Pulsilogium
Richard de Grijs Daniel Vuillermin Beijing, China Pulsilogium (center; line with a weight tied to a finger alongside a ruler) and thermoscope (right). (Sanctorius, S., 1626, Commentaria in primamFen primi libri CanonisAvicennae, Venice: Sarcina, p. 22. Woodcut and text; Credit: Wellcome Library, London) The heart is a musical organ. The irregularity of one’s inhalation and […]
The pulsilogium and the diagnosis of love sickness
Donatella Lippi Giuseppe Mascia Luigi Padeletti Florence, Italy Doctors since time immemorial have felt the pulse of their patients, noting its regularity, frequency, strength, and breadth, at times using colorful expressions to variously describe it as “formicant” or “vermicular” (ant-like or worm-like),1 and diagnosing “love sickness” in maidens by the presence of the so-called […]