Gabriele Falloppio (also Gabrielle Falloppia) (1522/23 – 9 October 1562) was an Italian
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 ...
often known by his
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name Fallopius. He was one of the most important
anatomists and
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 ...
s of the sixteenth century, giving his name to the
Fallopian tube.
Life
Falloppio grew up in
Modena. His father died early but thanks to the support of affluent relatives he enjoyed are thorough humanist education in Modena, learning Latin and Greek and moving in the local circle of humanist scholars. He was for some years in the service of the Church, among others as a kind of warden at Modena's
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
, but soon turned to medicine. In 1544, he performed a public anatomy in Modena. In 1545, at the latest, he began to study medicine at the
University of Ferrara
The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...
, at that time one of the best medical schools in Europe. It was there also that he much later, in 1552, when he was already professor in Padua, received his
medical doctorate
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
under the guidance of
Antonio Musa Brasavola
Antonio Musa Brassavola (variously spelled Brasavoli, Brasavola, or Brasavoli; 16 January 1500 – 1555) was an Italian physician and one of the most famous of his time. He studied under Niccolò Leoniceno and Giovanni Manardo. He was the friend a ...
. He taught on medicinal plants in Ferrara but was not professor of anatomy there, as has sometimes been claimed. He also was never a personal student of
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'' ' ...
as is often falsely maintained (he explicitly called himself a student of Vesalius in the sense only that he had read his works). In 1548, he took the chair of anatomy at the
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
History
The Origins
The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...
. In 1551, he was invited to occupy the chair of anatomy and surgery 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 ...
and also lectured on medicinal plants or
botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
. In Padua, he shared his house over years with the German botanist
Melchior Wieland
Melchior Wieland Latinized as Melchior Guilandinus with the Italian form Melchiorre Guilandino (c. 1520 – 25 December 1589) was a Prussian botanist and physician who worked in Padua.
Wieland was born in Königsberg and was educated at the Unive ...
which gave rise to some suspicions about the nature of their relationship and got Falloppia involved in Wieland's vitriolic controversy with the irascible botanist Pietro Andrea
Mattioli Mattioli may mean:
*Alessandro Mattioli (born 1998), Italian footballer
*Carlo Mattioli (born 1954), Italian race walker
* Denise Mattioli (born 1952), Brazilian volleyball player
* Ercole Antonio Mattioli (1640–1694), Italian minister
* Gaspare ...
. Falloppia was a very popular teacher and had numerous students. He also ran an extensive medical and surgical practice and took his students with him so they could learn from him. He died in Padua in October 1562, not even 40 years old. His plans for a major illustrated anatomical textbook were thus never realized.
Contributions
Falloppio published only one major work during his lifetime, the ''Observationes anatomicae'', which first came out in 1561. Here he presented his numerous new anatomical findings, correcting and expanding on the works of Galen and Vesalius. Some of his findings referred to the head and the brain. He added much to what was known before about the internal ear and described in detail the
tympanum and its relations to the osseous ring in which it is situated. He also described minutely the
circular
Circular may refer to:
* The shape of a circle
* ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega
* Circular letter (disambiguation)
** Flyer (pamphlet), a form of advertisement
* Circular reasoning, a type of logical fallacy
* Circular ...
and
oval window
The oval window (or ''fenestra vestibuli'' or ''fenestra ovalis'') is a membrane-covered opening from the middle ear to the cochlea of the inner ear.
Vibrations that contact the tympanic membrane travel through the three ossicles and into the in ...
s (fenestræ) and their communication with the
vestibule and
cochlea
The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory or ...
. He was the first to point out the connection between the
mastoid cells
The mastoid cells (also called air cells of Lenoir or mastoid cells of Lenoir) are air-filled cavities within the mastoid process of the temporal bone of the cranium. The mastoid cells are a form of skeletal pneumaticity. Infection in these cells ...
and the
middle ear
The middle ear is the portion of the ear medial to the eardrum, and distal to the oval window of the cochlea (of the inner ear).
The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles, which transfer the vibrations of the eardrum into waves in the ...
. His description of the
lacrimal ducts in the
eye was a marked advance on those of his predecessors and he also gave a detailed account of the
ethmoid bone
The ethmoid bone (; from grc, ἡθμός, hēthmós, sieve) is an unpaired bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. It is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits. The cubical bone is lightweight due to a ...
and its cells in the nose. The
aquaeductus Fallopii, the canal through which the
facial nerve
The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste ...
passes after leaving the
auditory nerve
The cochlear nerve (also auditory nerve or acoustic nerve) is one of two parts of the vestibulocochlear nerve, a cranial nerve present in amniotes, the other part being the vestibular nerve. The cochlear nerve carries auditory sensory information ...
, is also named after him. He also described the Fallopian hiatus, an opening in the anterosuperior part of the petrosal bone.
His contributions to the anatomy of the
bone
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
s and
muscles were very valuable as well. He discovered among other the muscle that lifts the upper eyelid. He studied the
reproductive organs in both sexes, and gave the first precise description of the
uterine tube
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uteru ...
, which leads from the
ovary to the
uterus
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...
and bears his name to this day. He was the first to describe the
ileocecal In many Animalia, including humans, an ileocolic structure or problem is something that concerns the region of the gastrointestinal tract from the ileum to the colon. In Animalia that have ceca, the ileocecal region is a subset of the ileocolic r ...
valve, which prevents a reflux of fecal matter from the colon to the small intestines, and demonstrated its function to his students. He also was the first to identify the vessels in the abdomine which were later called lacteals because of their milky appearance after meals.
His contributions to practical medicine were also important. He was the first to use an aural
speculum for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear, and his writings on surgical subjects are still of interest. After his death, some of his students published their lectures, in particular, on
ulcer
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
s,
tumor
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
s, medical cosmetics, and other surgical topics and on botany and mineral waters. In his lectures, Falloppio also described, around 1555, a linen sheath that previously had been soaked in medicinal substances and then dried and some authors have praised him as the inventor of
condom. The sheath was not to be used during intercourse, however. A man who had intercourse with a woman he suspected of being infected with the French disease or
syphilis was to put the sheath over the glans penis after intercourse and leave it there for several hours to destroy infectious matter that might have entered the skin. Some authors have taken Falloppio's claim seriously - which is clearly phantastical - that he tested this sheath on a thousand or more men.
Falloppio also lectured extensively on
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
T ...
s and their medicinal qualities and presented the results of his chemical analysis of the waters from various springs by means of distilliation. He argued against
Fracastor's theory of fossils, as described as follows in
Charles Lyell's ''
Principles of Geology
''Principles of Geology: Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes Now in Operation'' is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell that was first published in 3 volumes from 1830–1833. Ly ...
'':
Falloppio of Padua conceived that petrified shells had been generated by fermentation in the spots where they were found, or that they had in some cases acquired their form from 'the tumultuous movements of terrestrial exhalations.' Although a celebrated professor of anatomy, he taught that certain tusks of elephants dug up in his time at Puglia were mere earthy concretions, and, consistently with these principles, he even went so far as to consider it not improbable, that the vases of Monte Testaceo at Rome were natural impressions stamped in the soil.
Legacy
Various anatomical structures were described by Falloppio, including
Fallopian tube,
Fallopian Canal, and
Fallopian ligament.
Several - quite different - portraits which claim to represent Falloppia have survived but there is no conclusive evidence that any of them is authentic.
Works
''Omnia, quæ adhuc extant opera''(1584) (mostly a collection of student notes on Falloppio's lectures)
* Falloppio, Gabriele. 1562. ''Observationes anatomicae.'' Venetiis: Apud Marcum Antonium Vlmum.
(first published in 1561)
* ''Kunstbuch Des hocherfarnen und weytberhümpten Herrn Gabrielis Fallopij, der Artzney Doctorn von mancherley nutzlichen Künsten . Sampt einem andern büchlin / durch Christophorum Landrinum außgangen''. Manger, Augspurg 157
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf (spurious, wrongly attributed to Falloppio)
* ''Gabrielis Fallopii Wunderlicher menschlichem Leben gewisser und sehr nutzlicher Secreten drey Bücher : vom Authore selbst in Ttalienischer Sprach publicirt, jetzund aber Teutscher Nation zu gutem in unser Muttersprach ubersetzet'' . Iennis / N. Hoffmann, Franckfurt am Mayn 161
Digital editionby the
University and State Library Düsseldorf (spurious, wrongly attributed to Falloppio)
See also
*
List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
*
External links
*
* http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/2288.html
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falloppio, Gabriele
1523 births
1562 deaths
16th-century Latin-language writers
History of anatomy
Italian anatomists
Italian Roman Catholics
16th-century Italian physicians
People from Modena
University of Padua faculty
University of Ferrara alumni
Catholic clergy scientists
University of Pisa faculty