Left: Armadillo Genus Alterum Clusii - “Armadillo, alternate genus”
Right: Armadillo siue Aiatochtli - “Armadillo or Gourd Rabbit [from Nahuatl language]”

All genus of armadillo have armored scutes that protect them from predators when they roll up, but the hardness and organization of those scutes varies. Because of this armor, the animals tend to be fairly slow. The denseness means that they’re also not naturally buoyant - however, the armadillo family has a counter for this! They inhale lots of air and expand their abdomen to twice the natural size, as well as being able to hold their breath for several minutes.

Ground armadillo has the dubious honor of being the only syphilis “cure” that you can contract Mycobacterium leprae from while preparing it. While I doubt Southerners are trying to cure syphilis with the armadillos they contact, it’s worth noting that over 70% of the leprosy cases in the Southern United States in the past two decades are thought to have armadillo-based origins.

A Description of the Nature of Four-Footed Beasts; With Their Figures Engraven in Brass. Joannes Jonstonus, 1655.

Camelus bactrianus - Bactrian Camel

Ignore the title (“Camelus Bactrianus seu Dromedarius”), since all the camels depicted here are Bactrian.

One of the background images seems to be depicting a camel “kushing” (kneeling) on a struggling human, with an erect phallus. All camels become significantly more aggressive during breeding season, and the domesticated Bactrian camel has been described as “impossible to control” during that period. Obviously humans have managed to breed out some aggression/train many male Bactrian camels over the centuries, so “impossible” seems a bit hyperbolic, but even experienced handlers note that it’s much easier to avoid the males than train them. 

The second background figure depicts…camels? Doing…something? I’m pretty sure camels don’t make a habit of sitting on their haunches facing each other, and I know for a fact that they don’t mate any differently than other camels, so I really don’t know. Maybe they’re just having a bit of a cuddle. Anyone knowledgeable on camelid behavior?

A Description of the Nature of Four-Footed Beasts. Joannes Jonstonus, 1678.

“Ai siue Ignavus” - Bradypus tridactylus

The title “Ai siue Ignavus” translates to “Ai, or Lazy”, which were the two common names for the Pale-throated sloth at the time. The Bradypus genus is the genus of three-toed sloths, which are the ones who are descended from a common ancestor of the giant ground sloths - two-toed sloths are actually not closely-related to either three-toed or giant sloths. 

Even though they’re not closely-related, both sloth families share a unique trait: they don’t have seven cervical vertebrae, which is a trait of almost all mammals, including those with very short necks (such as whales) and very long necks (such as giraffes). The two-toed sloths have only six cervical vertebrae, and the three-toed sloths have nine cervical vertebrae. The extra vertebrae in the three-toed sloths are what allow them to have such flexibility in their neck, and how they can turn their head 180 degrees.

A Description of the Nature of Four-Footed Beasts. Joannes Jonstonus, 1678.

Foetus in foetu, stillborn conjoined twins, live-born conjoined twins

Foetus in foetu, or a parasitic twin, occurs approximately 7% of the time in cases of pregnancies with conjoined twins. Conjoined twins are formed when an egg about to split into identical twins does not fully separate, and foetus in foetu is simply a more extreme case of that. Unlike other cases of conjoined twins, the “secondary” body does not have a brain, heart, or any independent life, and is dependent upon the fully-formed twin to sustain it.

The conjoined twins shown here appear to be thoraco-omphalopagus (upper) and omphalopagus (or xiphopagus). Prior to modern Caesarian-sections, the life of the mother was almost always lost in cases of conjoined twins. However, when the twins were not in need of serious life-support measures (such as in most omphalopagus and xiphopagus twins), they were sometimes able to be kept alive by wet nurses. There are illustrated accounts of full-grown conjoined twins going all the way back to the 15th century, and they likely existed in some very limited capacity prior to that time.

Monstrorum historia memorabilis. Johann Schenk [Ioanne Schenckio], 1609.

Antique English surgical instruments and case, circa 1650

moshita:

A compleat treatise of the muscles, as they appear in the humane body, and arise in dissection, 1681

John Browne

88. Lepus quatuor auribus, cuius dorso alii quatuor leporini pedes eminebant.

89. [One-headed cat with two bodies]

That rabbit-goat-many-legged-thingy apparently lived for a few months in 1533.

Fortunius Licetus de Monstris. Gerardi Blasii, 1615.

followingcaligula answered: do illustrations of gaping head wounds count?

Yes. Yes they do. 

1621 painting of Hungarian hussar Gregor Baci.

He had a lance pierce through his eye/skull/brain during a tournament, but after it was removed, he made a “full recovery”…whatever that meant in the 17th century. I do know he didn’t die for a few decades after, and continued to perform his duties as a nobleman, but didn’t go to war with the other Hussars when there was some uprising, presumably because he, er, was short one eye? I don’t know.

All I know is that he’s the original Phineas Gage.

Bandaging lacerations and amputating limbs: Part II.

Sculteti was well-known for his innovative bandage cuts and bandaging techniques.

Armamentarium Chiurgicum. Ioannis Sculteti [Johannes Schultes], 1665.

Bandaging serious lacerations and amputation of limbs.

Armamentarium Chiurgicum. Ioannis Sculteti [Johannes Schultes], 1665.

freakyfauna:

Dodo (Raphus cucullatus).
From Historia naturae, maxime peregrinae, libris XVI by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, 1635.

More.

Found here.