Does the fetus breathe in the mother's womb?
Müller. De respiratione foetus. 1823
MÜLLER, Johannes [Mueller].
De respiratione foetus commentatio physiologica. In Academia Borussica Rhenana. Praemie Ornata.
Leipzig, Carolum Cnoblochium, 1823.
600 €
8vo (221x133 mm), xiv-259 (i.e.225)-(1) pages and one plate.
binding: Original wrappers. Uncut.
Library stamps. foxing. First cover detached, lack lower cover. Spine chipped.
First edition.
Müller introduced a new area of biological research in Germany and pioneered the used of experimental methods in medicine.
"In 1820 the Bonn Faculty of Medicine posed its first prize question: Does the fetus breathe in the mother's womb? Müller entered the competition and sought to clarify the problem through experiments on live animals. Experiments on pregnant cats were not successful. He was first able to demonstrate that the fetus breathes in an experiment on a ewe. Observing the umbilical cord, he ascertained that bright red blood flows to the fetus through the umbilical vein and that dark blood flows back to the placenta through the umbilical artery. Fetal respiration is one of the few problems that Müller solved through vivisection on warm-blooded animals. Later he had harsh words for his crude , "knife happy" type of experiments." (DSB).
Scarce.
references: DSB [IX, 569].
