An
exhibition by the College Library
for the symposium Hypertension
Exhibition prepared by John Dallas, Rare Books Librarian |
 |
 William
Harvey (1578-1657)
Exercitatio
anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus
Frankfurt, 1628
Harvey’s De motu cordis is generally regarded to
be the most important single work in the medical literature, and
the foundation of modern medicine. It provided for the first time
an accurate description of the heart's actions. Contrary to centuries
of tradition Harvey argued that the heart did not constantly produce
blood, but circulated it through the body and in one direction
only. He noted that when an artery is cut, the blood spurts out
as if under pressure.
The College copy is from the library of Sir James Young Simpson. |
 Johann
Jakob Wepfer (1620-1695)
Observationes
anatomicae, ex cadaveribus eorum, quos sustulit apoplexia
Schaffhausen, 1675
One of the most important books in the study of apoplexy. Wepfer
was city physician at Schaffenhausen in Switzerland when he carried
out meticulous examinations on the cerebral blood vessels and brains
of patients who had suffered apoplexy. The above work, describing
four cases with clinical and post-mortem findings, was the first
to show that apoplexy was a result of cerebral haemorrhage. Wepfer
was also the first to note that apoplexy could be caused by a blockage
of one of the main arteries supplying blood to the brain. |
 Stephen
Hales (1677-1761)
Statical
essays, containing haemastaticks
London, 1740
Stephen Hales was the curate of a small country parish for over
fifty years. His invention of the manometer is probably the most
outstanding contribution to medicine made by a non-medical researcher.
Hales inserted one end of a brass tube into the artery of a horse.
To the other end he attached a vertically positioned glass tube,
nine feet in length. On untying the ligature on the artery, blood
rose in the tube to a height of eight feet three inches above the
left ventricle of the heart. This is the first recorded demonstration
of the measurement of blood pressure. His pioneering studies of
blood pressure, peripheral resistance, cardiac capacities and blood
velocity were the greatest advance in circulatory physiology since
Harvey’s work over one hundred years earlier. |
 Giambattista
Morgagni (1682-1771)
De
sedibus, et causis morborum
Venice, 1762
One of the most important books in the history of medicine. This
monumental work established the organ concept of disease and made
pathological anatomy a major medical discipline. In exhaustive
detail Morgagni reports on nearly 700 cases and autopsies. One
case describes a patient who died with edema and a bladder stone.
This is generally regarded to be the first description of familial
hypertension. From his investigations, Morgagni concluded that
death was due to hereditary bladder stone disease and apoplexy. |
 John
Cheyne (1777-1836)
Cases
of apoplexy and lethargy
London, 1812
Cheyne graduated MD at Edinburgh and was a Fellow of this College.
Although better known for his description of periodic breathing
(Cheyne-Stokes respiration), he was also the author of the above
classic treatise on apoplexy.
It outlined his concept of the role played by cerebral circulation
in apoplexy, and includes the first illustration of a subarachnoid
haemorrhage. |
 Jean
Louis Marie Poiseuille (1799-1869)
Recherches
experimentales sur le mouvement des liquides dans les tubes de
tres petits diametres
Paris, 1841
Poiseuille improved upon blood pressure measuring apparatus by
substituting the short tube of a mercury manometer for the inconveniently
long tube that Hales had used. Connection with the artery was established
by means of a hollow lead tube filled with potassium carbonate
to prevent coagulation. Poiseuille’s haemodynamometer showed
that blood pressure rises and falls with expiration and inspiration. |
 Karl
von Vierordt (1818-1884)
Die
Lehre vom Arterienpuls in gesunden und kranken Zustanden
Brunswick, 1855
The search for a more accurate method of determining blood pressure
led to Vierordt’s invention of the sphygmograph. This was
the first instrument with which a tracing of the human pulse could
be made. His method of using weights was cumbersome and inexact,
but he did establish the principle that blood pressure could be
found by measuring the counter pressure needed to obliterate the
arterial pulsation. |
 Etienne-Jules
Marey (1830-1904)
Physiologie
experimentale
Paris, 1876
The French physiologist Marey was a pioneer in the study of blood
pressure and the developer of the first practical sphygmograph.
Marey’s invention magnified the movement of the pulse and
recorded a tracing of it on to paper. The above work was a comprehensive
study of the circulatory system in its normal and diseased states.
Marey, who also pioneered the use of sequential photographs as
a study of the mechanics of locomotion, is regarded as a major
contributor to the development of the motion picture. |
 Samuel
von Basch (1837-1905)
Der
Sphygmomanometer
Berlin, 1887
The first instrument which did not necessitate puncturing the
skin was introduced by Samuel von Basch. A balloon was placed over
the artery in the wrist and compressed until no pulsation could
be felt. The pressure at which the pulsation disappeared gave a
reasonably accurate measurement of systolic pressure. Basch soon
realised that the higher the systolic pressure, the greater the
risk of stroke and kidney disease. In 1896 the Italian physician
Scipione Riva-Rocci introduced the inflatable cuff which could
be placed over the upper arm to constrict the brachial artery. |
 Harvey
Cushing (1869-1939)
On
routine determinations of arterial tension in operating room and
clinic (Boston Medical and Surgical Journal)
Boston, 1903
Riva-Rocci’s apparatus was little known until Harvey Cushing
visited Pavia in 1901. The American neurosurgeon was so impressed
by the Riva-Rocci sphygmomanometer he requested that he take one
back to Baltimore where he could promote its use. After successfully
using it in his surgical operations Cushing was invited to a specially
convened meeting in Boston to demonstrate the value of the instrument.
Cushing’s paper was published in the above journal. The mercury
sphygmomanometer was soon to become the standard instrument for
measuring blood pressure. |
