Zoonomia: Volume 1: Or, the Laws of Organic Life

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Zoonomia: Volume 1: Or, the Laws of Organic Life
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Erasmus Darwin
SeriesCambridge Library Collection - History of Medicine
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:616
Dimensions(mm): Height 297,Width 210
Category/GenrePhysiology
Human biology
ISBN/Barcode 9781108005494
ClassificationsDewey:578.012
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 20 July 2009
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) is remembered not only as the grandfather of Charles but as a pioneering scientist in his own right. A friend and correspondent of Josiah Wedgwood, Joseph Priestley and Matthew Boulton, he practised medicine in Lichfield, but also wrote prolifically on scientific subjects. He organised the translation of Linnaeus from Latin into English prose, coining many plant names in the process, and also wrote a version in verse, The Loves of Plants. The aim of his Zoonomia, published in two volumes (1794-6), is to 'reduce the facts belonging to animal life into classes, orders, genera, and species; and by comparing them with each other, to unravel the theory of diseases'. The first volume describes human physiology, especially importance of motion, both voluntary and involuntary; the second is a detailed description of the symptoms of, and the cures for, diseases, categorised according to his physiological classes.