Kocher’s hernia operation.

Marcy wrote a great deal on hernia, describing high ligation of the sac, transplantion of the spermatic cord, and careful reconstruction of the inguinal canal. This work, illustrated with 66 full-page plates, is one of the most spectacular of 19th century American surgical monographs. See No. 3594.

Bassini’s operation for femoral hernia.

Franks finally demonstrated the advantages of primary resection for gangrenous gut in strangulated hernia.

Lockwood’s operation for femoral hernia.

Described imbrication of flaps in hernia repairs.

Bloodgood’s operation for inguinal hernia. See also Ann. Surg., 1919, 70, 81-88.

Lotheissen’s operation for femoral hernia.

Battle’s operation for femoral hernia.

Mayo’s operation for umbilical hernia.

Includes description of the Ferguson operation.

Laroque combined a superior transperitoneal gridiron incision with a Bassini repair.

First preperitoneal approach to hernia repair.

Gallie and LeMesurier used fascial sutures in their operation for inguinal hernia.

Henry’s operation for femoral hernia.

The Tanner slide operation as a relaxing incision.

The McVay or Cooper ligament repair.

The Canadian or Shouldice repair.

First monograph on ambulatory hernia surgery. Second edition published by Ishiyaku Euroamerica in 1986 was retitled:

Hernia repair without disability: A surgical atlas illustrating the anatomy, technique, and physiologic rationale of the "one-day" hernia and introducing new concepts, tension-free herniorrhaphies.

Aretaeus left many fine descriptions of disease; in fact Garrison ranks him second only to Hippocrates in this respect. In the printed editions of this bibliography, before the present online version, the Adams edition was cited no less than 12 times for individual diseases, plus its first citation in "Collected Works" (No. 22.) This number of citations is, of course, greater than any other specific work by any other author, though the number of citations may be a reflection of idiosyncracies of the compilers rather than a proportionate measure of the significance of Aretaeus in the history of medicine. The citations are as follows:

3162. On angina, or quinsey. In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams, 249-52, 404-07.

3163. On pleurisy. In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams, 255-58, 410-16.

2433. On elephas, or elephantiasis. In his Extant works, ed. by F. Adams, 366-73, 494-98. Classic description of “elephantiasis Aretaei”, nodous leprosy.

5046. On ulcerations about the tonsils. In hiis Extant works, ed. F. Adams, 253-55. Aretaeus’s description of ulcerations about the tonsils, which he called “ulcera Syrica”, clearly referred to diphtheria, of which it was the first unmistakable description. For his treatment of the disease, see pp. 409-10 of the same work.

5089. On dysentery. In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams. 353-57. Prior to Lösch’s discovery of E. histolytica, all forms of dysentery were differentiated only on clinical grounds.

4915. Extant works. Ed. F. Adams. Aretaeus wrote important accounts of melancholy (298-300, 473-78) and madness (301-04).

5146. On tetanus. In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams,  246-49, 400-04. Aretaeus left a full account of tetanus.

4484,  On arthritis and sciatica. In his Extant works, ed. by F. Adams,  362-65, 492-93,

3612. On jaundice, or icterus. In his Extant works, ed F. Adams, 324-28.

4510. On paralysis. In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams.

4808. On epilepsy, in his Extant works, ed F. Adams,  243, 296, 399, 468. Aretaeus was well acquainted with hemi-epilepsy from local injury in the opposite half of the brain; partly from this knowledge he formulated the “decussation in the form of the letter X” of the motor path. He first described epilepsy resulting from a depressed fracture of the skull. In his excellent description he made the first mention of the aura.

3925. On diabetes.In his Extant works, ed. F. Adams. 338-40, 485-86. The first accurate account of diabetes, to which Aretaeus gave its present name; he insisted on the part which thirst plays in the symptomatology. 

According to the Wikipedia article on Headache, Aretaeus also provied the first recorded classification system for headaches: "He made a distinction between three different types of headache: i) cephalalgia, by which he indicates a shortlasting, mild headache; ii) cephalea, referring to a chronic type of headache; and iii) heterocrania, a paroxysmal headache on one side of the head." 

Digital facsimile of Adams's Greek and Latin edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

First description of cirrhosis of the liver.

This book revolutionized the study of diseases of the chest. Auscultation in the instrumental sense dates from Laennec’s invention of the stethoscope (at first merely a roll of stiff paper) with a view to amplifying the sound of the heart’s action. The work illustrates Laennec's wooden stethoscope, which could be purchased from the publishers, and which was advertised for sale on the original printed wrappers of the first edition. Laennec's first wooden stethoscope was in two parts; later he invented a three-part stethoscope.

Laennec was considered the greatest teacher of his time on tuberculosis. Indeed, it was in elaboration of his investigation of the disease that he invented the stethoscope. He established the fact that all phthisis is tuberculous, described pneumothorax and distinguished pneumonia from the various kinds of bronchitis and from pleuritis. “Laennec’s cirrhosis” – chronic interstitial hepatitis – is described on p. 368 of Vol. 1. The second edition, 1826, is even more important, since it gives not only the various physical signs elicited in the chest, but adds the pathological anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment of each disease encountered. Laennec died of tuberculosis at the early age of 45. English translation of the first edition by J. Forbes, London, 1821. 

Diagnostic liver puncture.

Original description of acute yellow atrophy of the liver.

Rokitansky ranks with Morgagni as among the greatest of all writers on gross pathology. He is said to have performed over 30,000 autopsies himself. His Handbuch was for many years pre-eminent among its contemporaries. Although Rokitansky embraced more than one false doctrine, he was quick to admit and correct his mistakes. Virchow’s criticism of the first edition of the Handbuch led Rokitansky to re-write it. He foresaw the eventual importance of chemical pathology, at that time non-existent. Vol. 1 of the first edition was published last; vol. 3 was published first.

Vol. 3 (1842), p. 313: Rokitansky’s classic description of the pathological picture of acute yellow atrophy of the liver. Rokitansky named the disease; it has also been called “Rokitansky’s disease”.

English translation, 4 vols., London, 1849-54.

Budd was Professor of Medicine at King’s College, London. Section III of the above book includes a description of that form of cirrhosis to which the name “Budd’s disease” has been applied. In the second edition, 1852, p. 484, Fasciolopsis buski, the fluke causing fasciolopsiasis, is described. George Busk (1807-1886) found specimens in the liver at necropsy and drew Budd’s attention to them.

Frerichs’s classic monograph on diseases of the liver summarized the existing knowledge and included his own important work on the subject. He discovered leucine and tyrosine in the liver in acute yellow atrophy (Dtsch. Klin., 1855, 7, 341-43), a condition to which he devoted much study. Frerichs was Professor of Pathology at Berlin and enjoyed a great reputation; more than any other man he was responsible for the development of scientific teaching in Germany. English translation, London, 1860.

First cholecystotomy for the removal of gallstones.

Classic description of chronic interstitial hepatitis.

“Hanot’s disease”. First description of hypertrophic cirrhosis of the liver with icterus. Thesis publication, 1875; published in book form, Paris, 1876. Digital facsimile of the book form edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Sims’ operation of cholecystotomy.

First description of pancreatic necrosis, “Balser’s fat necrosis”.

First successful removal of the gallbladder.

Dr. Lürman, a general practitioner in Bremen, was first to report homologous serum hepatitis. English translation in Human viral hepatitis, by A. J. Zuckerman, 2nd ed., New York, 1972, pp. 4-10.

In this review of the world literature and a report of animal experimentation, Senn concluded that complete extirpation of the pancreas was invariably followed by death, but that partial excision was feasible and justifiable.

“Bard-Pic syndrome” first described.

“Riedel’s lobe”, a form of constriction lobe of the liver.

Fitz described three forms of acute pancreatitis, and made the earliest suggestion that disseminated fat necrosis is the result of a pathologic process in the pancreas.

Naunyn produced a classic monograph on gall-stones, devising an accurate chemical classification. He was one of Frerichs’s best pupils and became Professor of Clinical Medicine successively at Dorpat, Berne, Königsberg, and Strasburg. English translation, London, 1896.

Liver puncture biopsy.

Chappuis and Chauvel were the first to study biliary concretions by means of Roentgen rays.

Important work on surgical treatment of hydatids of the liver. Originally appeared in Russian in Khirurgiya, 1898, 3, 3-9.

First x-ray demonstration of gall-stones.

Talma’s operation for the relief of ascites in cirrhosis of the liver.

“Among Halsted’s many outstanding surgical accomplishments those related to surgery of the biliary tract are lesser known. However, he is commonly credited with performing the first successful operation for a primary cancer of the ampulla of Vater” (Rutkow).

Hektoen produced experimental cirrhosis of the liver. His notable work in pathology includes the foundation of the Archives of Pathology.

Test for diseases of the pancreas.

Galactose tolerance test.

Loewi’s pancreatic function test.

Wohlgemuth’s pancreatic function test.

The van den Bergh test.

McNee showed that bile pigment formation is not a function of the liver cells alone, but can take place in other tissues. He thus disproved the theory propounded by Minkowski and Naunyn in 1886.

Non-surgical drainage of the gallbladder was first suggested by Meltzer. See also No. 3651.

Reich was the first to obtain cholangiograms.

See No. 3649.

Introduction of cholecystography.

Bromsulphthalein test for liver function.

Takata-Ara reaction for the diagnosis of liver disease.

Bilirubin excretion test of liver function. See also his thesis, published in 1925.

“Von Gierke’s disease”, glycogen disease of hepatomegalic type. See also the review by S. van Creveld, Medicine, 1939, 18, 1-128.

Star-shaped radiolucencies caused by gas in gallstones.

Quick’s liver-function test.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy for cancer of pancreas. With W. B. Parsons and C. R. Mullins.

Cystic fibrosis (mucoviscidosis) described. With E. Uehlinger and C. Knauer.

See also the same journal, 1943, 77, 581-84.

A pioneer paper on the dietary treatment of cirrhosis.

Cephalin-cholesterol liver-function test.

Intravenous hippuric acid test for liver function. With H. N. Ottenstein and H. Weltchek. See also Amer. J. Dis., 1939, 6, 716-17.

Modern method of liver puncture.

Transmission of infective hepatitis agent.

MacCallum and Bradley finally proved the nature of both serum and infective hepatitis.

Placement of auxiliary whole liver.

With nine co-authors.

First human liver transplant (three patients; one died during operation, the second after 7.5 days, and the third after 22 days). With five co-authors.

(Order of authorship in the original publication: Blumberg, Alter, Visnich.) Discovery of Australia antigen, hepatitis B antigen, Aa, later called HBsAg.  Blumberg received half of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in Biology in 1976 for the discovery of the antigen, for discovery of the hepatitis B virus, and for the discovery/ invention of the hepatitis B vaccine— the first cancer vaccine.  See B. S. Blumberg, Hepatitis B: The Hunt for a Killer Virus (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.)

With J. P. Giles and J. Hammond.

Contains short biographies and an excellent bibliography.

De Medicina is the oldest Western medical document after the Hippocratic writings. Written about 30 CE, it remains the greatest medical treatise from ancient Rome, and the first Western history of medicine. Celsus’s superb literary style won him the title of Cicero medicorum. De medicina deals with diseases treated by diet and regimen and with those amenable to drugs and surgery. The surgical chapters contain the first accounts of the use of ligature, excellent descriptions of lateral lithotomy and herniotomy, and the earliest discussion of the surgical remedies for mutilations -- what we now call plastic surgery, including plastic operations for restoration of the nose, lips, eyelids, ears, etc. Celsus also included numerous important contributions to dentistry, including some of the earliest Western accounts of the treatment of toothache, oral surgery, tooth extraction, and fractures of the jaw.

The text of De Medicina seems to have been neglected at some point during the Middle Ages, and when it was no longer copied, it was eventually lost. A copy was discovered in Milan in 1443. ISTC no. ic00364000. Digital facsimile from the Bayerische StaatsBibliothek at this link.

The surgical section of Albucasis’s Altasrif, the first rational, complete and illustrated treatise on surgery and surgical instruments. The author was an  Arab Muslim physician and surgeon who lived in Al-Andalus. During the Middle Ages this was the leading textbook on surgery until it was superseded by Saliceto. The work was first published in print in the Latin translation by Gerard of Cremona, in this collective edition, in which Guy de Chauliac's surgery was the lead title. Besides its significance in general surgery and for the history of surgical instruments, Albucasis's work was “of great importance for the development of practical dentistry” (Hoffmann-Axthelm). Chapter 28 discusses excision of epulis. Chapter 29 deals with calculus. Albucasis understood that calculus on the teeth is a major cause of periodontal disease and gave explicit instructions for scaling the teeth, describing the instruments which he invented for this purpose. Chapter 30 covers tooth extraction, and Chapter 33 contains one of the earliest discussions of tooth prostheses, and describes some oral surgery procedures. The work contains some of the earliest illustrations of dental instruments. See No. 5550.  

Note that Albucasis's surgery, a work of significant practical value, was the last, or one of the last, of the medieval classics of surgery to be printed. ISTC no. ig00564000. Digital facsimile from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek at this link.  

A superbly illustrated 14th century MS of Albucasis was reproduced in full color facsimile as Codex Vindobonensis Series Nova 2641, Graz, Akademische Druck, 1979.

Guy de Chauliac studied medicine and surgery in Montpellier and Paris, and served as the personal physician to Popes Clement VI, Innocent VI and Urban V. His Chirurgia magna, written in the early 1360s, remained a standard surgical text up to the time of Ambroise Paré. The work was a compilation of the best medical ideas of the time, containing very little original material and drawing heavily upon the classical Greek and Arabic medical writings; however, Guy often used his own experience as a basis for criticism of those canonical texts.

The book’s seven chapters cover a broad range of subjects, from cancers to wounds to dentistry. Of particular interest is Guy’s insistence that surgeons study anatomy (“the surgeon who is ignorant of anatomy carves the human body as a blind man carves wood”), and his description, in his chapter on abscesses and tumors, of the Avignon plagues of 1348 and 1360, which he blamed upon the Jews and an evil conjunction of the planets. The book’s preface (“Capitulum singulare”) is an essay on the general facts that Guy thought all surgeons should know, including the liberal arts, diet, surgical instruments and operating methods; it also contains a brief history of medicine in the form of notes on earlier physicians and surgeons

Guy distinguished the various kinds of hernia from varicocele, hydrocele, and sarcocele, and described an operation for the radical cure of hernia. His book includes Guy’s views on fractures, and gives an excellent summary of the dentistry of that period. Guy discussed the anatomy of the teeth and their eruption. He also listed the maladies to which the teeth are subject, and their cures, including hygienic rules which for the most part remain true today. He described the double-lever pelican and its method of use. He also recorded how surgeons were using botanic medicines to prevent their patients from feeling pain during operations.

The first edition of 1478 was the first important medical book printed in French. ISTC no. ig00560700.  This edition is extremely rare; the ISTC cites only two copies, both in Paris: Paris BnF; Moulins BM (imperfect, fragment).

Arcolani's Practica, published in this edition of Rhazes with Arcolani's commentary, includes the first documentation for the use of gold for filling diseased teeth. There are also several chapters on diseases of the teeth, and material on the anatomy and physiology of the teeth.  ISTC no. ir00180000. Digital facsimile from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek at this link.

The first book on dentistry, probably intended for the general public. The unidentified writer confined himself to extracts from the works of ancient and recent writers on the subject. The woodcut on the title page was the first known printed representation of a tooth extraction taking place in a dentist's office. The book underwent 11 editions in 45 years. Reproduced in facsimile, Berlin, Meusser, 1921.

This popular guide to health includes the first monograph on dentistry for the layman, encouraging the practice of oral hygiene and simple dental care. The first part of the book deals with the eyes, the second with the teeth proper, and the third with the primary dentition.

Eustachius is credited with several anatomical discoveries, among them the tensor tympani muscle and the Eustachian tube, published in his chapter entitled De auditus organis. In the last respect, however, he was anticipated by Alcmaeon, about 500 BCE. Eustachius was the first to describe the chorda tympani as a nerve. Plate VIII illustrates the “Eustachian valve”, the valvula venae cavae in the right auricle. Eustachius recognized the thoracic duct in the horse and even detected some of its valves. His work on this structure was forgotten until Aselli’s description of the lacteals. This work includes first description of the adrenals. Several of the plates deal with the structure of the kidney.

Basing his work on the dissection of fetuses and newborn children, Eustachi was the first to study the teeth in any considerable detail. In his Libellus de dentibus attached to this work he provided an important description of the first and second dentitions and described the hard outer tissue and soft inner structure of the teeth. He also attempted an explanation of the problem of the sensitivity of the tooth’s hard structure. The Libellus has a separate title page dated 1563. It was reprinted with German translation, Wien, Urban & Schwarzenberg, 1951. It was translated into English by Joan H. Thomas and edited and introduced by David A. Chernin and Gerald Shlklar as as A little treatise on the teeth. The first authoritative book on dentistry (1563) (Canton, MA, 1999). Eustachi’s illustrations of the teeth were first published in his Tabulae anatomicae, edited by Giovanni Maria Lancisi (No. 391). For further information, including a discussion of the states of the Opuscula, see the entry at HistoryofInformation.com at this link.

Digital facsimile of the 1563 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Paré’s first general treatise on surgery, and the most comprehensive of his treatises before his collected works (1575). Dix livres included Paré's first description of the use of the ligature in amputations, one of his greatest contributions. Paré began the work with an exposition of his method of treating gunshot wounds, including descriptions and illustrations of the instruments he used. In his second chapter he discussed the treatment of arrow wounds, reminding us that arrows were still a major weapon of war in the 16th century. In his third chapter he discussed his methods of treating fractures, and the instruments, splints, and bandaging methods required. His fourth book covered the treatment of contusions, and the use of many instruments. His fifth book concerned the treatment of burns. The sixth book concerned what he called  "caries of the bones" which caused ulceration and putrefaction. These wounds he often treated with cautery. The seventh book concerned gangrene and "mortification," their treatment by amputation, and prostheses which Paré designed for these patients, including artificial legs and artificial hands. In his eighth book Paré discussed urological diseases including surgery for urinary stricture The ninth book concerned surgery for kidney and bladder stones. The tenth book further discussed urological problems, followed by a long section in which Paré illustrated and described the widest range of his instruments and the uses for each.

Paré also had an extensive dental practice and his books contain much information on the subject. He designed several instruments for extracting teeth, including an extraction forceps for breaking and pulling the teeth, sponge obturators, and an obturator with screw closure and special forceps for placement. He described a variety of pelican which he called a daviet. He also described and illustrated artificial teeth made of bone which he attached by silver wire. English translation as Ten books of surgery with the magazine of the instruments necessary for it. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1969. See No. 55. Digital facsimile of the 1575 edition from BnF Gallica at this link

The first Spanish book on dentistry. 

The first French book on dentistry.

Guillemeau was Paré’s son-in-law. His splendidly illustrated work is of special importance for dentistry and for surgery for cleft lip. It describes pyorrhea alveolaris for the first time and is also the first work to refer to inorganic materials for tooth fillings and for the construction of artificial teeth. English translation, Dordrecht, 1597.

Scultetus is famous for his illustrations of surgical procedures and both surgical and dental instruments. With respect to dentistry he describes and illustrates stomatological operations and includes fine illustrations of extraction instruments. The first edition was the only edition published in folio format. This was the most popular surgical text of the 17th century. It underwent numerous editions and translations. That with the most expanded text and illustrations was published in Amsterdam, 1672. English translation from a less expanded Dutch edition, London, 1674. Digital facsimile of 1655 edition from Google Books at this link.

Borelli originated the neurogenic theory of the heart’s action and first suggested that the circulation resembled a simple hydraulic system. He was the first to insist that the heart beat was a simple muscular contraction. One of the founders of biomechanics, Borelli was a representative of the Iatro-Mathematical School, which treated all physiological happenings as rigid consequences of the laws of physics and mechanics.

Borelli’s experiments included what are probably the first measurements of masticatory force.

English translation by P. Maquet from the 1743 edition as On the movement of animals. Berlin: Springer, 1989. 

Digital facsimile of the 1743 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Records discovery of bacteria in the mouth, with the first illustrations of the basic types – what were much later called cocci (round or oval), bacilli (rod-shaped) and spiriillum (spiral) forms. Although Leeuwenhoek had observed bacteria earlier, calling them animalcules, this paper is usually considered the first memoir on what were later called bacteria. At this early date the concept of microbiome did not yet exist; however, this paper also marks the beginning of our understanding of how parts of the human body are normally populated by bacteria. Digital facsimile from the Royal Society at this link.

The first separate British publication on dentistry, a pamphlet of 22pp. Editions were also published in Dublin, 1686, and London, 1687. The 1685 edition was reprinted by Dawson, 1969, and the Dublin edition was reprinted by the British Dental Association, 1924.

In his preface Drake credited the surgeon, anatomist and artist, William Cowper, for valuable aid in both the text and illustrations this work. Drake also included a chapter, "Of the Nose" written by Cowper which described the operation Cowper pioneered to empty the surgical treatment of diseases of the maxillary sinus. “In order to empty Highmore’s antrum of deposits and to be able to carry out the necessary irrigations, he extracted in most cases the first permanent molar, and then penetrated through its aveolus into the sinus with a pointed instrument” (Guerini).

Pierre Fauchard has been called the “Father of Dentistry”; his comprehensive and scientific account of all that concerned dentistry in the 18th century is one of the greatest books in the history of the subject. The second edition, published in 1746, contains a good description (vol. 1, pp. 275-77) of pyorrhea alveolaris; it was reprinted, Paris, 1961, and was translated into English by Lilian Lindsay and published by the British Dental Association in 1946 (reprinted Pound Ridge, N.Y., Milford House, 1969). Digital facsimile of the second edition from Google Books at this link.

The first English book on children’s teeth. Reprinted, Dawson, 1966. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

The first book incorporating specialized odontological research. Dissatisfied with the incomplete coverage of dental problems that he found in the works of Fauchard and Gerauldy, Bunon addressed such issues as dental erosion, tooth development and the prophylaxis of dental caries and other maladies of the teeth in his Essai.

Digital facsimile from biusante.parisdescartes.fr at this link.

The first specialized book on dental prosthetics.

The first important German manual of dentistry. Pfaff, dentist to Frederick the Great, was the first to describe the taking of dental impressions and the casting of models for false teeth. This book ranks in importance with the work of Fauchard and Hunter. Reprinted Hildesheim, G. Olms, 1966.

“Probably the most significant [French dental] author after Fauchard” (Hoffmann-Axthelm). Bourdet’s greatest contributions were to dental prosthetics. He also described severe periodontoclasia and his treatment of the condition – similar to modern gingivectomy.

Earliest English dental textbook. Berdmore was the first to mention the use of the microscope for the study of the minute structure of teeth.

This is a detailed study of the mouth, jaws and teeth with exceptionally accurate plates. Hunter correctly understood the growth and development of the jaws and their relation to the muscles of mastication. He coined the terms cuspids, bicuspids, molars and incisors.

This and Hunter's The natural history of the human teeth (No. 3675) revolutionized the practice of dentistry and provided a basis for later dental research. Hunter devised appliances for the correction of malocclusion. He described the various stages of inflammation of affected teeth, and gave an accurate description of periodontal disease. In the above work he included instructions with regard to the operation of tooth transplantation from one living person directly to the jaw of another. Hunter’s outstanding reputation made this highly dubious procedure more widely accepted than it should have been.

The first specialist book on oral surgery. The first volume deals with diseases of the maxilla; and the second, with diseases of the mandible. Jourdain was particularly expert in diseases of the maxillary sinus and describes all forms of inflammation, and cystic and tumourous alterations of the sinuses. The appendix to Volume one deals with specific problems exclusive to oral surgery and quotes for the first time case histories of other physicians. English translations, Baltimore, 1849 and Philadelphia, 1851.

Woofendale was the first professional dentist to travel to the American colonies (1766) and to set up practice there. During his two years of practice in America he may have made the first set of artificial teeth contructed in what is now the United States. He returned to England in 1769. The above work was “the most important [English] dental text of the time after Berdmore’s” (Ring).

Dubois de Chémant was the first dentist to manufacture porcelain teeth by a process modified from that originally invented by an apothecary named Alexis Duchâteau in 1776. His book was translated into English as A Dissertation on Artifical Teeth. Evincing the Advantages of Teeth Made of Mineral Paste over Every Denomination of Animal Substance.... The earliest edition of this translation cited by OCLC WorldCat in May 2015 was the London, 1804 edition, described as a 4th edition. Digital facsimile of 1818 5th edition from Google Books at this link.The title page of the 1818 edition indicates that he maintained an office in London.

The first "scientific" paper on dentistry to appear in an American periodical. Trained in France, Gardette accepted a commission as a surgeon in the French navy and went to America in 1778 when France sent her ships to defend the cause of the American Revolution. Digital facsimile of the journal volume from Google Books at this link. The same volume of the journal contains an advertisement for "Mr. Gardette's Dentifrice (carefully put up in pewter pots) to whiten the teeth and harden the gums, preserving the former from decay and the latter from the scurvy. . . ." 

First American book on the teeth, a pamphlet of 26pp. It was intended for the lay public and listed sound rules of oral hygiene, explained the nature of dental diseases and their treatment, and stressed preventive maintenance of the teeth. In 1792 Skinner founded at the New York Dispensary the first in-hospital dental clinic in the United States. He also offered his services free of charge to the Hospital and Alms House of New York City, establishing the first dental clinic for the poor in America. Reprinted New York, Argosy, 1967.

This work contains one of the earliest histories of dentistry.

Fox’s classic treatise on the teeth is the first to include explicit directions for correcting dental irregularities. It is the first work on orthodontics.

Fox was a surgeon practicing dentistry. By some of the authorities his book is considered more valuable than Hunter’s (No. 3676). This is the first book to illustrate diseases of the teeth.

Fonzi, an Italian dentist living in Paris, produced the first sets of individual porcelain teeth mounted on a base. "While previously the entire mineral denture, both base and teeth, had been fired as a single piece, Fonzi in 1808 published a method for the manufacture of individual teeth with platinum hooks fired into them. . . . With the invention of these “Dents terro-metalliques” . . . which could be soldered to a metal bar, the determining step towards modern dental prosthetics had been taken (Hofmann-Axthelm, History of Dentistry, p. 256). Fonzi also discovered a method using a combination of procelain paste and various metallic oxides, of partially imitating the semitransparent tint peculiar to natural teeth. His artificial teeth could be manufactured in a range of natural colors. See Guerini, Life and Works of Giuseppangelo Fonzi (1925).

The first full-length book on dentistry published in the United States, and the first American book on the subject with a dental illustration.

Delabarre was one of the first to systematize occlusal anomalies through description and illustration of individual kinds. He also developed some of the earliest orthodontic appliances using bands. 

The first scientifically written textbook of dental prosthetics. Delabarre's innovations included clasp retentions, the impression tray, and the palatal obturator.
Digital facsimile from gallica.BnF.fr at this link.

Maury probably invented the dental probe. His book also shows one of the earliest illustrations of a dental mouth mirror. According to Quérard, F. Maury is the pseudonym of Auguste Tillet: "Table alphabétique de la plupart des auteurs qui ont écrit sur l'art du dentiste ou sur quelques-unes de ses parties" -- p. [465]-488. In the preface Maury acknowledges the assistance of Tillet, suggesting that it was Maury rather than Tillet who was the primary author. The work was translated with notes and additions by J. B. Savier, as Treatise on the Dental Art, Founded on Actual Experience (Philadelphia, 1843). Digital facsimile of the 1833 edition from Google Books at this link; digital facsimile of the English translation from the Internet Archive at this link.

An expansion of Shearhashub Spooner's 32-page dissertation, An inaugural dissertation on the pysiology [sic] and diseases of the teeth. Submitted to the examination of John Augustus Smith, M.D, president, and the trustees and professors of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the University of the State of New York; and publicly defended for the degree of doctor of medicine, April 6th, 1835. New York: J.& W. Sandford, printers, 1835.  

John Roach Spooner (1794-1838) an American dentist living in Montreal, was the first to use arsenous acid to devitalize the pulp. This discovery was first published in the above work by his brother. Digital facsimile of the 1836 work from the U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.

The first specialized orthodontic work in German, on anomalous positions of the teeth. A French translation was issued simultaneously by the same publisher.

One of the most popular books on the subject ever published. It underwent 13 editions during the next 74 years! Harris was instrumental in founding the first dental college in the world, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, as well as the first national association of dentists in the U.S., and the first authoritative dental periodical, the American Journal of Dental Science.

“Nasmyth’s membrane”, or persistent dental capsule.

Owen’s first large-scale original work covered the whole range of the toothed vertebrates, living and fossil, and discussed in detail the micrsocopic structure of the teeth and the physiology of dentition. Includes 168 plates. His comprehensive investigation of the morphology of mammalian teeth led him into palaeontology, of which he soon became one of the masters. Owen, son-in-law of William Clift, was from 1836-56 Hunterian professor at the Royal College of Surgeons. During the 1860s he was one of the most virulent opponents of Darwinism. Some copies of this work were issued on large paper.

Desirabode may have been the first to discuss the use of fluoride compounds for caries prevention. See No. 3692.1. English translation of 2nd ed., Baltimore, 1847.

Original description (p. 107) of “Carabelli’s cusp”, tuberculus anomalus, sometimes found on the lingual surface of the upper permanent molars. It was first illustrated on Tab. XI, Fig. 4e, and Tab. XIV, Fig. 4, of Kupfertafeln zu v. Carabelli’s Anatomie des Mundes, Vienna, 1842, and later described in Carabelli's Systematisches Handbuch der Zahnkunde, Band 2, which was published posthumously in 1844.

Digital facsimile of the 1842 atlas from Google Books at this link.

Tomes invented a set of anatomically correct forceps for tooth extraction, thereby elevating this device, which had been previously neglected, to dentistry’s most important extraction instrument. This book was revised and expanded from lectures originally published in the Medical Gazette at irregular intervals between 1845 and 1847.
Tomes persuaded the Royal College of Surgeons to grant a Licence, was a co-founder of the Odontological Society in 1856, and founded the (Royal) Dental Hospital in 1858. He played a leading part in the movement which led to the passing of the Dentists Act, 1878.

Tomes described and drew the protoplasmic processes from the odontoblasts, which are known as “Tomes’s fibrils”. These had been previously seen by Johannes Müller and others.

First work devoted exclusively to irregularities of the teeth.

The first modern textbook of oral surgery. Garretson received the first official hospital appointment as “oral surgeon”. He helped to establish oral surgery as a specialty.

“Riggs’s disease” – pyorrhoea alveolaris. Treatment of the disease by scraping was introduced by Riggs.

Witzel used histological methods to analyze pulp diseases, and applied antiseptic principles to their treatment. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

First "scientific" treatment of irregularities of the teeth. Kingsley made the first attempt at systematizing the treatment of occlusal abnormalities

The specialty of orthodontics received a new impetus with the work of Angle. He organized and classified the various abnormalities of the teeth and jaws and devised many methods of treating them. Through a series of books and pamphlets he standardized appliances, inventing the systems now widely used, with modifications.

In 1884 Miller became professor of dentistry at the University of Berlin, the first foreigner ever to receive a professorial appointment at a German University. Inspired by study of bacteriology under Robert Koch, Miller argued that “carbohydrates trapped around the teeth were fermented by bacterial components of the normal oral flora and the resulting acids decalcified the tooth enamel; other bacteria then entered the tooth through the initial defect and destroyed the underlying dentine” (Ring). His book first appeared in a German edition in 1889. Reprint of English edition, Basel, Karger, 1973

Harrison was the first to describe a method of making dental radiographs.

First dental radiography in America.

Taggart invented the modern method of making gold inlays.

Black established a system of cavity preparation from which modern techniques have been derived. He constructed a “gnathodynamometer” with which the pressure exerted on the human tooth and therefore on the filling material could be measured. Through experimentation he established an ideal metal mixture which was stable and did not discolor. Publication of his results led to standardization of the alloys. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

“The first authoritative book in the field” (Ring). Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Isolation of Lactobacillus odontolyticus I and II from carious teeth. Digital facsimile of part 1 from PubMedCentral at this link. Digital facsimile of part 4 from PubMedCentral at this link.

Reprinted with revisions and new index from J. dent. Res., 1920, 2, 89-175, 215-426, 604-717; 1921, 3, 87-228.

Original description of technique of making “bite-wing” radiographs.

It has not been conclusively demonstrated whether fluoride serves a specific physiological role, but fluoridation of public water supplies was followed by a reduction in the incidence of dental caries. One of the first studies on mass control of dental caries. With F. A. Arnold, P. Jay, and J. W. Knutson. See No. 3681.2.

The history of the beginnings of an organized dental profession in Britain.

Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Concerns the French literature of dentistry.

Vol. 4: Iconographia odontologia. Mit 186 abbildungen, by Curt Proskauer.

Second edition, 1926 (reprinted 1964).

Retrospective from 1839; discontinued in 1969. Later known as Index to dental literature. Digital facsimile of the early volumes from the Hathi Trust at this link. Black spearheaded the project and supervised the compilation of its early volumes.

Catalogue, without annotations, of the dental collections of the New York Academy of Medicine.

An annotated bibliography in Italian of dental books printed before 1800, and of books on general medicine with significant contributions to dentistry.