, a celebrated man-midwife, was born at Deventer, in the province
, a celebrated man-midwife, was
born at Deventer, in the province of Over-Yssel, in Holland, towards the end of the seventeenth century. Though
skilled in every branch of medicine, and honoured with
the dignity of doctor in that faculty, he was principally
employed in surgery, and in the latter part of his life he
almost entirely confined himself to the practice of midwifery, in which art he made considerable improvements.
He acquired also no small share of fame by his various mechanical inventions for assisting in preventing and curing
deformities of the body in young subjects. In that capacity he was repeatedly sent for to Denmark, whence he
drew a considerable revenue. His knowledge of mechanics did not, however, prevent his observing that much
mischief was done by the too frequent use of instruments
in midwifery; and he introduced such improvements in
the art, as gave him a decided preference over Mauriceau,
his almost immediate precursor. Satisfied with the principles on which his practice was founded, he published in
1701, “Operationes Chirurgicse novum lumen exhibentes
obstetricantibus,
” Leyden, 4to, which had been published
in Ulterius examen partuum
difficilium, Lapis Lydius obstetricum, et de necessaria cadaverum incisione.
” The two parts were published together, much improved, in 1733, but the work had already
been translated and published in most of the countries in
Europe. How long the author continued to live after the
publication of this improved edition is not known.