MERCKLIN, GEORG ABRAHAM. 1644-1702.


Tractatio Medica Curiosa, De Ortu & Occasu Transfusions Sanguinis.... Nuremberg: Johannes Zieger, 1679. 12mo (164 x 92 mm). Engraved frontispiece. Contemporary vellum. Browning and some foxing to leaves, tape-repaired wormhole to title. Provenance: Domenico Cotugno (bookplate).EARLY BOOK ON BLOOD TRANSFUSION. "In this work Mercklin recognizes and understands what is now known as a transfusion reaction, and he was not entirely convinced of the wisdom of performing transfusions. Transfusions were then done from an animal, usually a sheep, to a human being, or from person to person. The technical difficulties were great and Mercklin pointed out the dangers and drawbacks as he understood them ... Mercklin discusses case histories, indications, and diseases that were improved or left unchanged by blood transfusion" (Heirs of Hippocrates 653). The frontispiece, by Cornelius Nicolaus Schurtz, displays three scenes of early transfusion. Garrison-Morton 10604; Osler 3384; Krivatsy 7774; Waller 6478.