An early account of blood pressure measurement by Joseph Struthius (1510-1568).

By the time Bugiel wrote his thesis on Joseph Struthius (1510-1568) in 1901, from which the quotation is taken,' there was no longer any trace of the stone. Struthius came from a well-to-do family called Strus, his father being a comb manufacturer.2 Joseph, born in Poznan (at one time Posen), was the second of three sons. According to Eloy,3 he latinized his name to Struthius which, taken from the Greek, means sparrow. He was twice married and, as far as is known, left no heirs.' In 1527 Struthius went to the University of Cracow where he obtained the two parts of a degree in liberal arts in 1529 and 1531 respectively.5 The university, founded in 1364 by Casimir the Great, had four faculties ;6 while those of theology, philosophy and jurisprudence were well established, that of medicine had only been fully developed by Struthius's time. Like so many Poles, including Copernicus, who went to Italy to continue their studies, Struthius went to Padua in 1532, where he was promoted to Doctor of Medicine and Philosophy on 26 October 1535.7 Among his