The Sydenham Society

The Sydenham Society by Carl Rokitansky. This volume presents the English translation of Rokitansky’s manual on pathology, focusing on normal and abnormal post-mortem findings in the abdominal viscera. The Editor’s Preface explains the Viennese hospital setting and Rokitansky’s method of post-mortem observation, highlighting the division of the translation into four volumes and the sequence of topics. Volume II covers the Morbid Anatomy of the Digestive Apparatus and the Urinary-Genital Visera, with detailed cadaveric descriptions of diseases and congenital anomalies of the mouth through the intestines, peritoneum, stomach, liver, biliary system, pancreas, spleen, and the urinary organs. Subsequent sections address the sexual organs, including male and female genitalia, and the menstrual, puerperal, and tumorous processes that influence reproductive function. The work is a foundational 19th-century reference that emphasizes careful classification, comparative pathology, and the interrelations of systemic disease with organ pathology, as seen in Rokitansky’s extensive cadaveric evidence.