Midwifery, Obstetrics and the Rise of Gynaecology

The Gynaeciorum libri, the ''Books on [the diseases of] women,'' a compendium of ancient and contemporary texts on gynaecology, is the inspiration for this intensive exploration of the origins of a subfield of medicine. This collection was first published in 1566, with a second edition in 1586/8 and a third, running to 1097 folio pages, in 1597. While examining the origins of the compendium, Helen...