Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Ever wonder about what an 18th-century physician or surgeon needed to know about skin diseases? For the very first time, the 18th-century handbook, Doctrina de Morbis Cutaneis (1783 edition), has been translated into English. In an effort to distill confusing information about skin diseases into a simple system for his students, Joseph Jacob Plenck (1738–1807)—unknowingly and without any recognition—set the study of skin disease on a path toward formal specialization. Doctrina was the text that inspired Robert Willan (1757–1812) to make his own system; thus, Doctrina is the foundational text of dermatology. In the 250th anniversary of the first edition of this work (1776), it is our intent both to honor Plenck with a translation of his masterful work and to reveal its secrets to modern readers and scholars.
Scott Jackson, MD, is a practicing dermatologist and adjunct faculty at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. He has authored a book on the history of dermatology titled Skin Disease and the History of Dermatology: Order Out of Chaos.
Althea Ashe, PhD, is a retired Latin teacher, having taught for 30 years at the university and high school levels. Her master’s degree focused on Latin and Greek, and her doctoral research consisted of developing foreign language teaching strategies.
Introduction; Translation; Preface; Classes of Cutaneous Diseases; Genera and Species of Cutaneous Diseases; On Cutaneous Diseases by Categories; Class I. Macules; Class II. Pustules; Class III. Vesicles or Small Blisters; Class IV. Bullae; Class V. Papules; Class VI. Crusts; Class VII. Scales; Class VIII. Calluses; Class IX. Cutaneous Growths; Class X. Cutaneous Ulcers; Class XI. Cutaneous Wounds; Class XII. Cutaneous Insects; Class XIII. Diseases of the Nail; Class XIV. Diseases of the Hair; Conclusion; Glossary; About the Authors; Acknowledgments