Portrait of Edoardo Bassini Wellcome M0017969

Edoardo Bassini (April 14, 1844 – July 19, 1924) was an Italian

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

born in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

. In 1866 he received his medical degree from the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

, and afterwards joined the

Italian Unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

movement as an infantry soldier under

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

(1807–1882). In 1867 he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner. Following his release and recovery, he traveled throughout Europe, furthering his medical studies. He learned surgical procedures in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

under

Theodor Billroth Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (26 April 18296 February 1894) was a German surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and conf ...

(1829–1894), in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

under

Bernhard von Langenbeck Bernhard Rudolf Konrad von Langenbeck (9 November 181029 September 1887) was a German surgeon known as the developer of Langenbeck's amputation and founder of ''Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery''. Life He was born at Padingbüttel, and recei ...

(1810–1887), and in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

with

Johann Nepomuk von Nussbaum Johann Nepomuk Ritter von Nussbaum (2 September 1829 – 31 October 1890) was a Germany, German surgeon who was a native of Munich. In 1853, he earned his Doctor of Medicine, medical doctorate from the University of Munich, where he studied under ...

(1829–1890). He also visited

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he met with

Thomas Spencer Wells Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, 1st Baronet (3 February 181831 January 1897) was surgeon to Queen Victoria, a medical professor and president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Early life He was born at St Albans, Hertfordshire and receive ...

(1818–1897) and

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of s ...

(1827–1912). Afterwards, he was in charge of the surgical department at the hospital La Spezia, and in 1878 became a lecturer in surgery at

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. In 1882 he became head of surgical

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

, where he later succeeded Tito Vanzetti (1809–1888) as the chair of clinical surgery (1888). Bassini is remembered for his operative techniques involving

inguinal hernia An inguinal hernia is a hernia (protrusion) of abdominal-cavity contents through the inguinal canal. Symptoms, which may include pain or discomfort especially with or following coughing, exercise, or bowel movements, are absent in about a third ...

repair. In 1884 he introduced a surgical procedure that allowed for reconstruction of the

inguinal canal The inguinal canals are the two passages in the anterior abdominal wall of humans and animals which in males convey the spermatic cords and in females the round ligament of the uterus. The inguinal canals are larger and more prominent in males. T ...

and restoration of the patient's

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 its ...

following removal of the

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...

l sac. It was a landmark operation because the posterior wall of the inguinal canal could be rebuilt and reinforced with only

surgical sutures A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of threa ...

. It required no additional reinforcement or

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

. Despite the importance of the new surgical method, it didn't become known outside of Italy until 1890. Bassini is credited for the advocation of

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

practices into Italian surgery. He introduced the usage of

carbolic acid Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it requir ...

and

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

to increase the chances of a patient's recovery and survival.

Bassini's tomb in Pavia

Bassini was buried in his family tomb, in the "Cimitero Monumentale" of

, as well as other important Italian medical scientists, such as

Camillo Golgi Camillo Golgi (; 7 July 184321 January 1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist known for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia (where he later spent most of his professional career) betwee ...

Bartolomeo Panizza Bartolomeo Panizza (August 17, 1785 – April 17, 1867) was an Italian anatomist born in Vicenza. He received a medical degree in surgery from Padua, and furthered his studies at Bologna and Pavia. In 1809 he became a professor at the Universit ...

and

Adelchi Negri Adelchi Negri (16 July 1876 – 19 February 1912) was an Italian pathologist and microbiologist born in Perugia. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Pavia, where he was a pupil of Camillo Golgi (1843–1926). After graduation in ...

Bibliography

* “Nuovo metodo operativo per la cura radicale dell'ernia inguinale”, Padova 1889.

References

''Edoardo Bassini''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

Himetop
Some places and memories related to Edoardo Bassini {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassini, Edoardo 1844 births 1924 deaths Physicians from Pavia Italian surgeons University of Padua faculty