The Consilium ad Calcolum of Alberto de'Zancari

Zancari was born in 1278 and practised medicine in Ravenna and Bologna. He is mentioned in the Decameron of Boccaccio and in court records of Bologna in connection with 4 of his students who were accused of exhuming a body for medical research. Zancari's writings are found in several manuscript versions and include commentaries on Galen and Consilium ad Calcolum, which deals with renal calculosis. His therapeutic rules are summarized in 74 lines and cover both acute and quiescent calculi and prevention. The treatments prescribed do not differ from those in general use at the time, nor are any new concepts introduced.