Alembics, 16th Century


When even a water bath was too hot, Par̩ suggested that the sun's rays be used to evaporate away the fluid, which was again captured and condensed in a retort. This method was to be used to increase the strength and concentration of a compound that had already been put through an alembic. The process could take 12--5 days. The 1585 edition of Par̩'s Oeuvres (Collected Works) represents the final summary of his life's work. It has over twelve hundred folio pages, with nearly four hundred illustrations drawing upon a lifetime of practice. Four editions of the Oeuvres were published during his lifetime, and this is the last and the most complete. It closes with a long autobiographical essay in which he looks back upon his career with both satisfaction and humility. Often his descriptions of difficult cases end with the same simple sentence, "I treated him, but God cured him." Ambroise Par̩ (1510 - December 20, 1590) was a French surgeon, anatomist and inventor. He was royal surgeon for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III and is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology. He was a leader in surgical techniques and pioneered modern battlefield wound treatment.


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