De iudiciis urinarum tractatus, ex probatis collectus autoribus, & in tabulæ formam confectus, adiectis etiam caussis quæ hanc vel illam vrinam reddant: Ioanne Vasseo Meldensi autore.

8vo (158x104 mm.). 72 pp. Collation: A-D⁸ E⁴. Manuscript ownership entry on the title page ‘Jo: Caspar Cestari Ferrarien' (?), some marginal manuscript annotations. Later vellum. Occasional pale, foxing and staining, good copy.

Rare edition of this collection of medical opinions and observations on urine, gathered from the works of several authoritative authors, first published in Venice in 1542 by Venturino Roffinelli. According to Renaissance medicine, which was based on Latin sources, such as Pliny's Natural History, and Ancient Greek sources, especially Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen, the human faculties originated mainly from three organs: brain, heart and liver. The proper or bad functioning of these organs was correctly believed to determine either illness or health. The brain regulates memory and thinking, the heart keeps our blood moving, the liver shows its health condition through urine, according to the writer. This book lists and classifies different types of urine according to their colour, odour, grade of fluidity, temperature and so on, prescribing remedies. Such features were considered to give indications on the state of the four humours in the human body, whose balance was held to be crucial to good health. Jean Vassé, the author of this short treatise, was dean of the faculty of medicine at the College de France and professor at the University of Salamanca. He was one of the earliest translators of Galen from the Greek.

Italian Union Catalogue: IT\ICCU\RLZE\016176

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