Anatomy.- Borelli (Giovanni Alfonso) De motu animalium, 2 parts in 1, additional engraved title, titles in red & black with engraved vignette, engraved dedication to Boerhaave, woodcut initials and tail-pieces, 19 folding engraved plates, early ink inscription of Alexander Horsburgh to front free endpaper and another old signature to title, title lightly soiled, small portion lacking from fore-margin of dedication up to plate-mark (repaired), final plate trimmed close, contemporary panelled calf, rubbed, rebacked, corners repaired, 4to, Leiden, P. Vander Aa, 1710.

⁂ Interesting view of the body as a machine operating according to the laws of physics, with the bones and muscles as mechanics and the circulation of the blood as hydraulics. Part 2 includes Bernouilli's Meditationes mathematicae de motu musculorum at end.
Borelli is also important in the history of aviation: Part I includes a section on flight 'De volatu' in which he demonstrates that it would be impossible for man to fly by the power of their muscles alone.