An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

BELL, Sir Charles

10 entries
  • 401.3

The anatomy of the human body. 4 vols.

Edinburgh: Cadell & Davies, 17971804.

“The first great textbook contributed by the British school to modern anatomy” (Russell, No. 461).



Subjects: ANATOMY › 18th Century, ANATOMY › 19th Century, ANATOMY › Anatomical Illustration, ART & Medicine & Biology
  • 402

A system of dissections. 2 vols.

Edinburgh: Mundell & Son, 17981803.

Published in 7 fascicules and appendix while Bell was still a student, this was Bell’s first independent venture as an author. The anatomical work of Charles Bell and his brother John was among the most significant in the British Isles during the early part of the 19th century; from the artistic point of view it was probably the finest during that period.



Subjects: ANATOMY › 18th Century, ANATOMY › 19th Century, ANATOMY › Anatomical Illustration
  • 6604.92

Essays on the anatomy of expression in painting.

London: Longman, 1806.

Bell’s artistic and literary skills combined with his knowledge of anatomy and physiology to make this work a tour de force of art history and the anatomical and physiological basis of facial expression.



Subjects: ANATOMY › Anatomy for Artists, ART & Medicine & Biology
  • 5583

A system of operative surgery. 2 vols.

London: Longman, 18071809.

Famous as anatomist, physiologist, and neurologist, Charles Bell was also, like his brother John, an eminent surgeon. His artistic talent was even greater than that of his brother. (See No. 5588.)



Subjects: SURGERY: General
  • 1254

Idea of a new anatomy of the brain.

London: Strahan & Preston, 1811.

Contains first reference to experimental work on the motor functions of the ventral spinal nerve-roots, without, however, establishing the sensory functions of the dorsal roots. This very rare privately printed pamphlet, the original edition was limited to 100 copies, is reproduced in Medical Classics, 1936, 1, 105-20. Facsimile reprint, London, 1966. Bell’s own annotated copy, preserved in the library of The Royal Society, is reproduced in Cranefield, The Way In and the Way Out: François Magendie, Charles Bell and the Roots of the Spinal Nerves, Mt. Kisco, N.Y., Futura Publishing, 1974. See No. 1588.9. Cranefield proves that Magendie (No. 1256) discovered the “Bell-Magendie law”.



Subjects: NEUROSCIENCE › NERVOUS SYSTEM › Peripheral Nerves / Nerve Impulses
  • 5588

Illustrations of the great operations of surgery, trepan, hernia, amputation, aneurism, and lithotomy.

London: Longman, 18201821.

One of the most dramatically and beautifully illustrated works in the entire literature of surgery. Hand-colored copies show more blood than is usual for surgical treatises of this period. From publication in fascicules, 1820-21. A second, undated issue appeared circa 1830. One of the images of shows an operation done on the head of a black man. This may be the earliest depiction of a black person in a medical work.



Subjects: ANTHROPOLOGY › Medical Anthropology, Illustration, Medical, SURGERY: General , SURGERY: General › Notable Surgical Illustrations
  • 1255
  • 4520

On the nerves; giving an account of some experiments on their structure and functions, which lead to a new arrangement of the system.

Phil. Trans., 111, 398-424, 1821.

“Bell’s palsy”. The facial paralysis ensuing upon lesion of the motor nerve of the face is described here for the first time. See also his later paper, with more detailed description, in the same journal, 1829, 119, 317-30. Reprinted in Med. Classics, 1936, 1, 152-69. This paper also includes the description of “Bell’s nerve”, the long thoracic.



Subjects: NEUROLOGY › Diseases of the Nervous System, NEUROSCIENCE › NERVOUS SYSTEM › Peripheral Nerves / Nerve Impulses
  • 1258

The nervous system of the human body. [2nd ed.]

London: Longmans, 1830.

Records Bell’s demonstration that the fifth cranial nerve has a sensory-motor function, his discovery of “Bell’s nerve” and the motor nerve of the face, lesion of which causes facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy). Bell was preceded in some of these discoveries by Mayo (No. 1390). Also includes the first description of myotonia. First edition, 1824.



Subjects: NEUROSCIENCE › NERVOUS SYSTEM › Peripheral Nerves / Nerve Impulses
  • 411.1

The hand: Its mechanism and vital endowments as evincing design.

London: William Pickering, 1833.

Classic work on the anatomy, physiology, bio-mechanics, comparative anatomy, and adaptive importance of the hand. Issued as a volume in a series entitled the "Bridgewater Treatises." The first edition has 288pp. An enlarged second edition with 314pp. was also published in 1833, without notice on the title page



Subjects: ANATOMY › 19th Century, Biomechanics, COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, RELIGION & Medicine & the Life Sciences › Natural Theology
  • 1588.14

The way in and the way out. François Magendie, Charles Bell and the roots of the spinal nerves. With a facsimile of Charles Bell’s annotated copy of his Idea of a new anatomy of the brain. Edited by Paul Cranefield.

Mount Kisco, NY: Futura Publishing, 1974.

An annotated bibliography of the literature documenting the history of this controversy together with reproductions of the texts of the crucial papers. See Nos. 1254-1259.



Subjects: ANATOMY › Neuroanatomy › History of Neuroanatomy, NEUROLOGY › History of Neurology, NEUROSCIENCE › Neurophysiology, Neuroanatomy, PHYSIOLOGY › History of Physiology