Traité de l’organe de l’ouie; contenant la structure, les usages et les maladies de toutes les parties de l’oreille.

The first scientific account of the structure, function and diseases of the ear. Du Verney showed that the bony external meatus develops from the tympanic ring and that the mastoid air cells communicate with the tympanic cavity. He it was who first suggested the theory of hearing later developed by, and accredited to, Helmholtz. Du Verney also identified a temporal bone tumor, which is believed to be the earliest description of cholesteatoma. English translation, 1737. See also A bibliography of editions of Du Verney’s Traité … published between 1683 and 1750, compiled by N. Asherson, J. Laryng. Otol., 1979, Suppl. No. 2, and book-form edition, London, H. K. Lewis, 1979. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.