![Jacopo da Carpi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Jacopo_da_Carpi.JPG)
Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (also known as Jacobus Berengarius Carpensis, Jacopo Barigazzi, Giacomo Berengario da Carpi or simply Carpus; c. 1460 – c. 1530) was an Italian physician. His book "''Isagoge breves''" published in 1522 made him the most important
anatomist
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
before
Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' ' ...
.
Early years
Jacopo Berengario da
Carpi was the son of a
surgeon. As a youth he assisted his father in surgical work, and his surgical skills became the basis of his later work as a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. In his late teens, through the association of his family with
Lionello Pio, Berengario came under the tutelage of the great humanist printer,
Aldo Manuzio who came to Carpi to tutor
Alberto III Pio, Prince of Carpi
Alberto III Pio, Prince of Carpi (23 July 1475 – 1531), was an Italian Renaissance prince. He cultivated interest in humanism and was an intimate of the Medici popes.
Born at Carpi in 1475, only two years before the death of his father, he h ...
and apparently included Berengario in his instruction. In the 1480s, Berengario attended university in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
receiving his degree in medicine in 1489.
Fame through mercury cure for syphilis
After obtaining his degree, Berengario returned to his father and assisted him with his surgery practice for a short time, but the influx of the "
French disease" in 1494 provided Berengario with a chance to advance his career as a physician. Traveling to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, he treated several patients who suffered from the ailment. Judging by an admittedly one-sided account, his work in Rome was a mix of financial success and medical failure. As quoted in
Lind
Lind is a surname of both Swedish and Estonian origin. In Swedish, it is the word for the linden tree. In Estonian, it is the word for bird.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 36.1% of all known bearers of the surname ''Lind'' were residen ...
's introduction to the ''
Isagoge
The ''Isagoge'' ( el, Εἰσαγωγή, ''Eisagōgḗ''; ) or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his ...
'',
Benvenuto Cellini provided a scathing account of Berengario's practice of treating
syphilis with doses of
mercury while charging "hundreds of crowns" paid in advance. Berengario apparently developed enough of a reputation that the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
invited him into his service, but he turned down the offer and left Rome shortly thereafter.
Anatomy in Bologna
Shortly after his work in Rome, he was appointed
Maestro nello Studio at Bologna, a university whose faculty were only rarely foreign and then only when they were scholars of considerable reputations. Berengario’s reputation and personal connections with powerful patrons were indeed quite strong. In 1504, the Pope granted him Bolognese citizenship, and he was asked to treat distinguished patients on several occasions including
Alessandro Soderini (relative of a
Cardinal and part of
the Medici family) in 1513 and
Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 12 September 1492 – 4 May 1519) was the ruler of Florence from 1516 until his death in 1519. He was also Duke of Urbino during the same period. His daughter Catherine de' Medici became Queen Consort of France ...
in 1517. Along with his reputation, Berengario increased his wealth becoming a collector of a variety of artworks including a Roman statue, a painting attributed to
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
and a pair of vases by
Cellini and eventually a house large enough to hold them all.
By all accounts, Berengario was both a popular teacher and an accomplished cultivator of powerful friends. Official university records indicate his success as a teacher over one of his colleagues. He was adept enough at diplomacy to be made court surgeon to the
Duke of Ferrara
Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territ ...
in 1529 after leaving Bologna despite having been condemned to pay a fine or have his nose cut off in 1500 for speaking insultingly of that ducal court.
Berengario’s personality is commonly characterized by citing his tendency to violent confrontation. In 1511, he attacked and robbed a stipendiary of the Pope. Also in 1511, he attacked a doctor who sought refuge in a nearby house. The wife of the owner of the house was injured in the process. In 1520, for reasons not quite clear, Berengario along with an entourage attacked the home of
Zambelli Petenghi with the intention of taking possession of it and killing its owner. Unable to gain entry, he was forced to content himself with doing damage to the house instead. Apparently due to his personal connections, he remained unpunished for any of his misdeeds.
Legacy
Berengario’s publishing record began in 1514 with an edition of
Mondino. In 1518 he published his
De fractura cranei and in 1521 his
Commentary on Mondino. The Commentary was then supplemented by the
Isagogae Breves in 1522 which was a greatly condensed version of the same work “for the common use of all good men”.
Berengario made several important advances in
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
including the first anatomical text augmented by illustrations, "''Anatomia Carpi. Isagoge breves perlucide ac uberime, in Anatomiam humani corporis''". This book emphasized the sensory over textual versions of the truth, an emphasis on
dissection of human cadavers, some first denials of
Galenic anatomy based on personal experience in dissection, and a preference for dissection of numerous bodies following a specific program of investigation. Whereas other anatomists claimed few actual dissections to their name, in 1522 Berengario da Carpi claimed to have anatomized several hundred bodies.
He also denied the existence of Galen's
rete mirabile
A rete mirabile (Latin for "wonderful net"; plural retia mirabilia) is a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other, found in some vertebrates, mainly warm-blooded ones. The rete mirabile utilizes countercurrent blood flow within ...
. Later
Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' '' ...
claimed ''he'' was the first to do so.
Anthology
*
*
*
References
Sources
*
*De Santo, N.G.; Touwaide, A., et al. "Berengario da Carpi." ''American Journal of Nephrology.'' 1999;19(2):199-212.
*Merlini L, Tomba P, Vigano A. "Berengario da Carpi, a pioneer in anatomy, rediscovered by Vittorio Putti." ''Neuromuscular Disorders.'' 2003 Jun; 13(5):421-5.
*''Morton's Medical Bibliography (Garrison and Morton).'' Ed. By Jeremy Norman. Fifth ed. Aldershot, Hants, England : Scolar Press; Brookfield, Vt., USA : Gower Pub. Co., 1991. Nos. 367 and 368.
*L.R. Lind Studies in Pre-Vesalian Anatomy. Biography, translations, documents. The American Philosophical Society, 1975
*Putti, Berengario da Carpi, Saggio Biografico e Bibliografico Seguito dalla Traduzione del “De Fractura Calvae Sive Cranei”, L. Capelli, Bologna, 1937
*L.R. Lind (trans), “Berengario da Carpi on Fracture of the Skull or Cranium”, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 80(4), 1990
External links
Jacopo Berengario da Carpi: Isagogae breues, perlucidae ac uberrimae, in anatomiam humani corporis a communi medicorum academia usitatam (Bologna, 1523) Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
Some places and memories related to Jacopo Berengario
*
Selected images from ''Isagogae breves''From The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berengario da Carpi, Jacopo
1460 births
1530 deaths
16th-century Italian physicians
Italian anatomists
People from Carpi, Emilia-Romagna
History of anatomy