A Short Introduction to Anatomy (Isagogae breves) by Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (review)

man. It is reassuring that Dr. Meyer has found a personal solution to die central problem that vexes his contemporaries. It would be a captious critic who demanded that it be die universal solution. ESTELLB RaMEY Georgetown University Scfaol ofMedicine A Short Introduction to Anatomy (Isagogae breves). By Jacopo Berengario da Carpi. Translated with an Introduction and Historical Notes byL. R. Lind. With Anatomical Notes by Paul G. Roofe. Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1959. Pp. xi+228. $5-oo. Berengario da Carpi was one ofthe most prominent Italian surgeons ofthe first half ofthe sixteenth century who is now chiefly remembered as a pioneer anatomist. Only one man before him, Mondino de' Luzzi, two centuries earlier, had dared to revive the practice ofhuman dissection and to record his findings in a work entitled Anathomia instead of submissively copying die description of Galen. It was this book that served as a springboard for Berengario's facile mind. In profound admiration for his bold predecessor, Berengario published in 1521 a Commentary on Mundinus, which, because of its large size, voluminous contents, and costliness, failed to be a successful publishing venture. One year later, however, he made up for the lack of popularity of the cumbersome tome by condensing his material into a much shorter and more readable book, which became an immediate success and rapidly went through numerous editions. This recognition was highly merited, for, according to the translator, L. R. Lind, the Isagogae breves, or "Short Introduction to Anatomy," was "the first full-scale description of the entire human body between that of Mundinus, who wrote in 1326, and that of Vesalius, in 1543." In spite ofits many editions, however, and its importance inthehistoryofanatomy, copies ofthe Isagogae have become extremely scarce, and the one English translation of 1660 is now almost inaccessible. In keeping with the tradition established by Mondino, Berengario divided his "Short Introduction to Anatomy" into four sections. Three ofthese deal with the major cavities of die human body and the fourth with the extremities. The text, illustrated by magnificent woodcuts, is brief though extremely lucid and was obviously intended to be committed to memory with relative ease. Although in this work Berengario had limited himselfto the absolutely essential, he nevertheless bowed to aesthetic values by including an anatomical description ofdimples. He explained that these little pits which appear in laughter indicated "grace and charm" and hence were known as the "navel of Venus." Berengario followed the custom of his day byhumblydedicating his work to the ruler of his native town, Carpi. His humility, however, gives way to just pride when he describes his "simple handbook, on anatomy" as "more complete dian any other" and states that "no other on this subject was ever shorter or clearer." In preparing a new translation, Professor Lind, chairman ofthe Department ofLatin and Greek at the University of Kansas, has rendered a great service to historians of 161 medicine and science, particularly since his work combines his own classical scholarship with die technical advice ofa leading anatomist, Dr. Paul G. Roofe. The latter also appended extensive notes which help the reader to identify the anatomical structures and the archaic nomenclature. The translation ofthe Isagogae follows the original pattern, but its concepts become more meaningful, thanks to Lind's detailed textual and historical notes. The image ofBerengario's original work is further evoked by the inclusion of his woodcuts, which are beautifully reproduced. From his writings, as they appear in this excellent translation, Berengario emerges as a great scholar and scientist. Lind's Introduction, however, makes it clear that Berengario's personality was often guided by baser motives. Highly respected and remunerated as a surgeon, Berengario himselfassaulted and robbed odier citizens and, although he admired art and collected paintings and statues, was not above cheating those artists whose works he had commissioned. Benvenuto Cellini describes such an incident bitterly, while also admitting diat he was a "very great surgeon" who "was learned and could speak admirably on the subject of medicine." Indeed, the duality of Berengario's character, his extremely active, adventurous, and successful life—all of which are touched upon in die Introduction—deserve a broader treatment than they receive in Lind's book...