Medizinische Fachprosa des späten Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit

one hand, Wolff and Blumenbach attached vitalism to epigenesis. On the other hand, the Montpellier tradition developed the notion of the organism as a network of quasi-organisms in which living forces reside. The latter approach culminated in the work of Bichat, who, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, located vital properties in distinct tissues which he treated as bodily elements. This is an important book, valuable both for its scope and cogent analyses. It reveals much about how and why the complex of "vitalist" theories in the enlightenment gave life science a new language upon which to construct a new science. I found Duchesneau's discussion of the work of Stahl and of Leibniz, both difficult writers, to be particularly instructive. Because this is a complex subject, the book is often difficult and slow. Many subordinate clauses and long paragraphs exacerbate the problem. Perseverance is, nevertheless, worthwhile. Elizabeth Haigh Department of History St Mary's University, Nova Scotia