anatomy; for which reason not a few authorities are inclined to credit him with the honor of being the founder of this department of medical science. Felix Platter of Basel, Switzerland, of whose experiences as a student at the University of Montpellier I have given a brief account on a previous page, and who was at this time Professor of Medicine in his native city, was also greatly interested in pathological anatomy. Haeser gives him credit for publishing a number of valuable contributions to this department of medical knowledge, and also for making the first attempt at a classification of diseases.
Before I close this chapter it seems only fair that I should add a few comments upon the careers of two physicians whose professional attainments entitle them to some consideration. The men to whom I have reference are Marcello Donato and Raymond Minderer.
Marcello Donato was a distinguished medical practitioner of the city of Mantua, Northeastern Italy, who died about the year 1600. He was one of the few who, at that early period, taught that it was very important to study disease from nature—i.e., from direct observation—and not from books. His description of the epidemic of small-pox of 1567 (published at Mantua in 1569) is worthy of commendation. His chief work, however, is that which bears the title "De medica historia mirabili etc." (Mantua, 1586.) It contains a remarkably large and complete collection of rare and extraordinary cases belonging to every department of medicine, and in his descriptions Donato pays particular attention to the pathologico-anatomical aspects of each case. He reports, for example, the instance of a Caesarian section performed on a living woman in 1540 by Christopher Bain; the child being found dead. Another interesting case reported by Donato is that of a child in whose ear a cherry pit had been allowed to remain undisturbed until it began to sprout; after which it was found easy to remove the impacted object. In a somewhat similar case which Donato also reports, the sprouting of the seed of Anagyris was hastened by the presence of a purulent discharge from the ear. In both instances all
