Preface

...of each, including the nervous, muscular, and glandular membranes. We have clearly revealed certain fibers used purely for sensation and others for motion. We also found very dense networks of blood vessels and numerous glands coating the back of the inner membrane most thickly from the mouth all the way to the anus. I say that these findings contribute greatly to the explanation of pharmaceutical theory. We discovered these things without following any previous example or the guidance of other authors. Regarding these anatomical discoveries, just as in my earlier works, I acknowledge that I owe a great deal to the diligent work and industry of the most learned Doctor of Medicine, Sir Edmund King Sir Edmund King (1629–1709) was an English physician who assisted Willis with many dissections and later became the physician to King Charles II.. Furthermore, my friend Dr. Master Likely Richard Master, a fellow physician and contemporary of Willis at Oxford. often lent a helping hand in completing this task.

From the start of this project, I intended to treat the whole of pharmacy here. I planned to explain the reasons for all medical operations, or at least the principal ones. However, while the work was in progress, the richness of the subject caused it to grow into such a large volume. I found it necessary to stop long before my goal. I have placed an end to it before even reaching the middle point. For besides the universal medicines, whose powers original: "ενεργείας" (energeias); this Greek term refers to the active forces or clinical effects of a drug. and modes of action we have now described, for the consideration...