Ramollissement remarquable des os du tronc d’une femme, avec des figures dessinées d’après nature et quelques semblables observations.
4to. [22.5 x 16.5 cm], (1) ff. engraved anatomical plate signed A.F. Schalck, 16 pp. including title. Bound in modern marbled boards, author and title on red letterpiece. Light foxing to plate, some toning and faint foxing to title and scattered leaves. Generally good. Extremely rare first edition of a medical case study on a severe case of osteomalacia, or bone softening, in the skull, thorax and pelvis of a young woman. The report briefly outlines the history of the case and the acquisition of the cadaver before launching into a highly detailed, technical explanation of the autopsy. Not in OCLC. Collation from KVK (UB Rostock). *BIUM 7328.
Dr. Renard’s report focuses particularly on the periosteum, or outer membrane of the bone structure, which he complains has been generally ignored in previous case studies of osteomalacia. Of special interest here is the single engraved plate, “dessinées d’après nature,” showing three views of the bones under question, with their irregularities and asymmetries clearly visible. The report goes on to discuss such anomalies as the bones’ discoloration, translucency and abnormally light weight, as well as the disease’s effects on the surrounding cartilage and ligaments; it also includes a full-page table, giving the dimensions of the thorax and pelvis in both centimeters and pouces (inches). Renard ends by excerpting a similar autopsy report by Johann Barthel von Siebold (1774-1814), the young chair of surgery at the University of Wurzburg.
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