Sunday, January 6, 2013: 9:10 AM
Bayside Ballroom C (Sheraton New Orleans)
Pedro Luiz Napoleão Chernoviz’s 1841 Formulário e Guia Médico reflects the perspectives of a Polish doctor attempting to systemize Brazilian and European knowledge of Brazilian medical botany. While the notions of disease and treatment contained in his Brazilian pharmacopoeia reflect Chernoviz’s medical training in Montpellier, he also makes claims of curative expertise based on Brazilian experiences treating a wide variety of patients in Rio de Janeiro. Rather than merely repeating French knowledge of pharmacology, Chrenoviz explores the Brazilian natural environment searching for local botanical knowledge and extractive techniques which will benefit patients on both sides of the Atlantic. This paper examines how Chernoviz’s guide reflects a mixture of European and indigenous notions of the body, diagnostics, and best practices for treatment of tropical diseases.