The Clinical Consultations of Francesco Torti

Italian physician Torti (1658-1741) is best known for his 1709 book discussing the use of cinchona bark to cure malaria. Physician and medical historian Jarcho (New York Academy of Medicine) collects and translates all the available records of his clinical cases, 329 in all, from Italian archives. Based on principle diagnosis or a conspicuous feature, the reports are arranged in sections on asthmatic sickness, habitual vomiting with hysterical convulsions, palpitations of the heart, difficulty swallowing liquids only, and uterine sickness. They usually include a subtitle that hints at the patient's identity or status or adds to the breadth of the background. The lack of technical categories reflects the practice at the time, when there were no such specialties as gastroenterology, urology, or allergy. There is no index.Saul Jarcho is the author of 'The Clinical Consultations of Francesco Torti', published 2000 under ISBN 9781575241449 and ISBN 1575241447.