On the Reparative Process in Human Tendons after Subcutaneous Division for the Cure of Deformities; with an Account of the Appearances Presented in Fifteen Post-Mortem Examinations in the Human Subject; Also a Series of Experiments in Rabbits, and a Résumé of the English and Foreign Literature of the Subject.

xi, 175, [1] pp; 7 plates, each with explanatory text leaf; ads. Original cloth, recently rebacked with most of original spine preserved. Very Good. First Edition. "A major contribution to the subject. . . . [Adams's] association with Little . . . stimulated his interest in the healing of tendons. He published a monograph on it in 1860 [offered here]. . . . Adams believed that the sheath had an essential role in the healing process, and he based his ideas on the study of human material; over a 9-year period he was able to study fifteen instances of tendon section done from 4 days to 3 years before. . . . [Adams] came to conclusions regarding this process that have continued to be valid" (Boyes, On the Shoulders of Giants, pp. 49-51). "We can see by the way . . . [Adams] set to work that he knew how scientific surgery should be built up. There were still uncertainties as to the exact manner in which repair was effected after a tendon is cut. Adams carried out a series of experiments on sixteen rabbits, cutting the tendo Achillis, and studying closely each stage in the process of repair. . . . It would repay us to review the results of his dissections of deformed feet in which the operation of tenotomy had been carried out at varying periods before death had occurred from some accidental cause. His descriptions of the condition of the parts to be seen in the dissections of deformed feet are still the best to be found in our libraries" (Keith, Menders of the Maimed, pp. 73-74). "Adams became the leading orthopedic surgeon of his time in England, succeeding his teacher, W. J. Little, in this role" (Peltier, Orthopedics, a History and Iconography, p. 45).…