Medical Investigation
in Seventeenth Century
England
Embryological Thought in
Seventeenth Century England
by Charles W. Bodemer
Robert Boyle as an Amateur Physician
by Lester S. King
Papers Read at a Clark Library Seminar,
October 14, 1967
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
University of California, Los Angeles/1968
Foreword
Although the collection of scientific literature in the Clark Libraryhas already served as the background for a number of seminars, in themost recent of them the literature of embryology and the medical aspectsof Robert Boyle's thought were subjected to a first and expertexamination. Charles W. Bodemer, of the Division of Biomedical History,School of Medicine, University of Washington, evaluated theembryological ideas of that remarkable group of inquiring Englishmen,Sir Kenelm Digby, Nathaniel Highmore, William Harvey, and Sir ThomasBrowne. Lester S. King, Senior Editor of the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, dealt with the medical side of Robert Boyle'swritings, the collection of which constitutes one of the chief gloriesof the Clark Library. It was a happy marriage of subject matter andlibrary's wealth, the former a noteworthy oral presentation, the lattera spectacular exhibit. As usual, and of necessity, the audience wasrestricted in size, far smaller in numbers than all those who are nowable to enjoy the presentations in their present, printed form.
C. D. O'Malley
Professor of Medical History, UCLA
I
Embryological Thought in Seventeenth
Century England
CHARLES W. BODEMER
To discuss embryological thought in seventeenth-century England is todiscuss the main currents in embryological thought at a time when thosecurrents were both numerous and shifting. Like every other period, theseventeenth century was one of transition. It was an era of explosivegrowth in scientific ideas and techniques, suffused with a creative urgeengendered by new philosophical insights and the excitement ofdiscovery. During the seventeenth century, the ideas relating to thegeneration and development of organisms were quite diverse, and therewere seldom criteria other than enthusiasm or philosophical predilectionto distinguish the fanciful from the feasible. Applying a well-knownphrase from another time to seventeenth-century embryological theory,"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age ofwisdom, it was the age of foolishness."[1]
Embryology underwent some very significant changes during theseventeenth century. At the beginning of the century, embryology wasdescriptive and clearly directed toward morphological goals; by the endof the century, a dynamic, more physiological attitude was apparent, andtheories of development derived from an entirely different philosophicbase. During this time, English investigators contributed much, some ofephemeral, some of lasting importance to the development of embryology.For this[Pg 4]< BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!
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