[MALPIGHI, MARCELLO. 1628-1694.]


BARTHOLIN, THOMAS. 1616-1680. De pulmonum substantia & motu diatribe. Copenhagen: Henricus Goedianus, 1663. Small 8vo (159 x 90 mm). Modern black morocco gilt with yapp edges. Soiling to title page, library stamps to verso of title, some browning.Provenance: Wellcome Library (stamps).Containing the second printing of Malpighi's "De pulmonibus observationes anatomicae," which announced his discovery of capillary circulation, added as an appendix to Bartholin's work. Malpighi wrote to Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608-1679) describing observations he had made of the lung tissue of a living frog through the microscope. He described tiny vessels connecting arteries with veins - proving that blood circulated within a closed hydraulic system. This rare 1663 volume includes not only Malpighi's two epistles on the lungs, but also reprints Borelli's observations on the subject and his own conclusions. Borelli saw Bartholin's book before Malpighi did, and was very critical of Bartholin's text. Garrison-Morton 760 (first printing of Malpighi); Krivatsy 818.