Zoonomia; Or, the Laws of Organic Life, Vol. II

Erasmus Darwin

Summary

"Zoonomia; Or, the Laws of Organic Life, Vol. II" by Erasmus Darwin is a medical work published in 1796. This volume systematically classifies diseases into four major categories based on bodily motions: irritation, sensation, volition, and association. Darwin provides encyclopedia-style entries explaining symptoms, underlying mechanics, and treatments for various ailments. He presents his own theory of fever and catalogs medicinal substances into seven classes. While primarily a medical text, the work contains fleeting passages that hint at organic transmutation, advocating the inheritance of acquired characteristics—ideas that would later echo in evolutionary thought. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects

• Evolution (Biology) — Early works to 1800
• Medicine — Early works to 1800
• Pathology — Early works to 1800
• Physiology — Early works to 1800

Bookshelves

• Health & Medicine
• Physiology