The Library of the Irish Cardiac Society
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| Title page of De Subitaneis Mortibus (RCPI library) |
As
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, it seems like a good time to take a look at
a collection which focuses on the heart; the library of the Irish Cardiac Society. The Heritage Centre holds
the library of the Irish Cardiac Society, a specialist library established in
1949 and maintained into the 1960s. The collection is now fully electronically catalogued and is
searchable through the online library catalogue.
The Irish Cardiac Society
Established in 1949 the Irish Cardiac Society
is the professional society in Ireland for those whose primary interest is in
the practice of cardiology, cardiovascular surgery and cardiovascular research.
The objective of the Irish Cardiac Society is
the advancement of knowledge of diseases of the heart and circulation.
In May, 1949, Dr P. T. O’Farrell
organised an informal meeting to discuss the formation of a cardiac society. In
attendance were Professor Leonard Abrahamson, doctors B.G. Alton , Oliver Fitzgerald,
L.K. O'Malley, B. Mayne, R.E. Steen, and P.T. O'Farrell. Prof. H. Moore, Dr
R.T. Jackson and Dr J. Lewis sent letters of support and apologies for their
absence. It was decided to invite Prof. V.M. Synge, J.M. O'Donovan, M.J.
O'Donnell and Drs J.A. Wallace , TM
Kavanagh , and also Drs Boyd Campbell, Marshall and V. Breakey as founder
members. The inaugural meeting of the Irish Cardiac society took place on
November 1949 at St. Vincent’s hospital. P. T. O’Farrell was elected chairman, the
objectives and constitution of the society were agreed upon and a special
library was established. [1]
Library of the Irish Cardiac Society
The collection consists of
books and pamphlets relating to cardiology, with an emphasis on books on heart
and cardiovascular diseases. The works mainly cover the period from the 19th to
mid-20th century, the oldest book dating back to 1707. Included in
the collection are works by prominent names in cardiology such as William Harvey, William Stokes, Rene Laennec and Sir James McKenzie. There are a substantial number of books bequeathed
from the personal book collections of Henry Francis Moore, John William Moore, Leonard
Abrahamson and P. T. O’Farrell. The
collection also includes a bound volume of O’Farrells published works. Patrick
Theodore Joseph O’Farrell, founder and first chairman of the Irish Cardiac
Society and a member of the British Cardiac Society and the American Heart
Association, was the author of many articles on cardiac research. From early on
in his career he had taken a special interest in cardiology, and he became
consulting cardiologist to St. Kevin’s Hospital, Dublin, and to the British
ministry of Pensions. A Fellow
of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, he was elected president in 1959.[2]
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| Library of the Irish Cardiac Society (RCPI Library) |
An especially interesting
book is the oldest in the collection, De Subitaneis Mortibus by Giovanni Maria Lancisi, dated 1707. The book was given to the Irish Cardiac Society by Paul Dudley White in 1950. White was a
pioneering cardiologist and a founding member of the American Heart
Association. The author of the book, Lancisi, born in 1654, was one of the most famous Italian physicians of
the 18th century and was known for his studies of cardiovascular
diseases. He qualified in medicine at the age of eighteen in the University of
Rome. He was
physician to Popes Innocent XI, Clement XI and Innocent XII. The book
is written in Latin and the title translates to ‘On Sudden Death’. In 1705, Lancisi was asked by Pope Clement XI
to investigate an epidemic of sudden death in Rome. De Subitaneis Mortibus was published
as a result of his research. Lancisi, an anatomist, clinician and
epidemiologist, performed a significant number of autopsies to identify the
cause of death among the victims. One of his major findings was that structural
abnormalities of the heart and the great vessels could be at the origin of
sudden death. Lancisi is credited for his contributions to cardiac pathology. [3]
Deirdre Hynes
Library Intern
References
[2]The British Medical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 5607 (Jun. 22, 1968), p. 768
[3] Accessed at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/329075/Giovanni-Maria-Lancisi#ref277673 on 12/02/2015