From Our Bookshelves: Back to Basics

Bio 101: Back to Basics

Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical (Gray’s Anatomy) by Henry Gray

“This work is intended to furnish the Student and Practitioner with an accurate view of the Anatomy of the Human Body, and more especially the application of this science to Practical Surgery.”  -Gray’s Anatomy Introduction

Originally written in 1858 by English anatomist Henry Gray, Gray’s Anatomy has remained extraordinarily influential to this day. Gray and his colleague Henry Vandyke Carter spent 18 months dissecting unclaimed bodies from London mortuaries in order to compile an inexpensive, accessible anatomy textbook for medical students. Due to the exponential growth of medical knowledge in the past century, current editions of the book contain over 2,000 pages and weigh around 11 pounds. In 2008, the 40^th revised edition of this medical cornerstone was released in honor of the textbook’s 150^th anniversary.

Take a look inside the original here.

 Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elements of Chemistry) by Antoine Lavoisier

Known as “the father of modern chemistry,” French scientist Antoine Lavoisier propagated and encouraged a well-defined, systematic chemical language, instead of the unclear, poorly organized language previously used by alchemists. His book Elements of Chemistry contains discoveries up until 1789, when it was first published. Inside he provides a list of elements that could not be broken down further, including oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, mercury, zinc, and sulfur. As a scientist, Lavoisier didn’t discover any new substances, developed no revolutionary apparatus, and worked out no improved methods of preparation. As a theorist however, he advanced chemistry to the level reached by physics and mathematics by the end of the 18^th century.

Principles of Chemistry by Dmitri Mendeleev

Written from 1868-1870 and released in two volumes, Russian scientist and inventor Dmitri Mendeleev’s Principles of Chemistry outlined a method of classifying elements according to their chemical properties. Mendeleev’s research eventually led him to developing the periodic table of elements. In addition to categorizing the 56 known elements in a systematic way, he was able to accurately predict eight elements. In his work, Mendeleev was able to argue his points clearly and effectively, and instead of amending editions of his work, he added footnotes to allow a reader to follow his journey and train of thought.

Do you have any book recommendations for us? What other classics paved the way for Biotech?