Browse Items (51 total)

The "London dome" hearing aid, so called because its shape resembled the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, is very similar to the trumpet hearing aid shown in John Harrison Curtis's 1836 book.

Du Verney's Traité de l'organe de l'ouie (1683) was the first book published solely on the ear; others dealt with the subject in chapters. Du Verney's book was small and concise. In one sentence he struck down the centuries old concept that a…

In this book, Sir William Wilde (1815-1876) presents the procedure for the "Wilde incision" used in treating mastoiditis. The procedure involved an incision in the swelling behind the ear, and it became the chosen care for three decades.

As a…

In retrospect, scholars have given credit to John Huxham's A dissertation on the malignant, ulcerous sore-throat (1757), as an early, true description of diphtheria, though the disease had not been identified and named at that time.

Like Itard, John Harrison Curtis had no formal medical training, yet he did not gain the same level of mastery as Itard. But despite his shortcomings, he had achievements. He invented the prototype of the telescopic hearing trumpet, shown on the…

This is the sixth edition of Curtis's Treatise on the physiology and diseases of the ear. In his bibliography to the Pappas Otolaryngology Collection, Dr. Pappas notes, "Considering the fact that it contained almost no physiology and uninformative…

Albinus' edition of Eustachius' anatomical plates includes additional pre-pages for identification of structures, as in the muscles illustrations shown in this exhibit. This system was created by the artist Albinus worked with, Jan Wandelaar.…

Valsalva's De aure humana tractatus (Treatise of the human ear), was published in 1704, twenty-one years after Du Verney's Traite de l'organ de l'ouie (1683), and thus was the second book published solely on the ear. But Valsalva included minute…

This is the brilliant anatomical text of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), which revolutionized the study of gross anatomy. Within, he identified and named structures heretofore unknown, including the malleus and incus, which he referred to as the hammer…

Fabricius, the brilliant pupil of Fallopius, succeeded his master as teacher of anatomy and surgery at Padua, and Casserio was his servant and student. In comparing the two anatomical works, Fabricius gives the best description of tracheotomy, wheras…

In this crowning work by Fabricius's rival servant, Casserio (Casseri, Giulio Cesare, approximately 1552-1616), the title page symbolically in ornate artwork portrays more powerful than words the contents of the script. Unlike Fabricius, Casserio…

This book by Czermak introduced the laryngoscope, shortly preceded Turck's work on the topic and added fuel to the vicious priority dispute. In English the title means, “On the laryngoscope and its employment in physiology and medicine.”

In this landmark book in the history of throat diseases from 1826, Pierre Bretonneau identified and named diphtheria.

Semeleder's work, "Rhinoscopy and its worth for physician practice: a monographic trial," introduced rhinoscopy to the medical field.

The accomplished English surgeon, Sir Astley Paston Cooper (1768-1841), noticed clinically that a hole in the tympanic membrane did not necessarily cause deafness, and that an incision in the anterior-inferior portion of the tympanic membrane could…

In his "The theory of hearing: supplement to the article on the treatise on sense," Claude-Nicolas Le Cat introduces the hearing horns he invented for hearing aids, which mimic the shape of the inner ear.

Horace Green describes his innovative use of the probang to apply topical medicines to the larynx in the treatment of laryngeal diseases.

Turck's "Practical introduction to laryngoscopy" was published the same year, but after Czermak's work, despite his argument for priority in the field of laryngoscopy for having originated use of, and having introduced Czermak to the laryngeal…

Sir William Macewan (1848-1924) was among the earliest surgeons to attach otitis abscesses through the ear. He learned from his teacher, Joseph Lister, to discard those aesthetic handle instruments made of ivory, ebony, bone and tortoise because they…

Published nearly 150 years after Eustachius' death, Lancisius tracked down the 39 anatomical plates from the descendants of Pier Matteo Pini, Eustachius' assistant. The plates were probably drawn by Eustachius himself, or Pini.

Eustachius'…