Giambattista Canano (1515–1579) was a notable physician and anatomist during the 16th century. He was a professor 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 ...

and personal physician to the Duke of Ferrara. He was a colleague 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'' '' ...

and Vesalius attributes to Canano the first observation of valves of

vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...

s, a crucial discovery that would lead to the understanding of the

circulatory system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

. He published one volume of his own writings on anatomy, but only four copies were made and he never completed the later volumes. He may have been discouraged by the great success of Vesalius' ''

De humani corporis fabrica ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (Latin, lit. "On the fabric of the human body in seven books") is a set of books on human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) and published in 1543. It was a major advance in the history ...

'', which covered the same subjects Canano was working on. Only a few copies survive. One notable inclusion is that Canano seems to be the first to have discovered the

palmaris brevis muscle Palmaris brevis muscle is a thin, quadrilateral muscle, placed beneath the integument of the ulnar side of the hand. It acts to fold the skin of the hypothenar eminence transversally. Structure Origin and insertion Palmaris brevis muscle is loc ...

, predating the work of

Realdo Colombo Matteo Realdo Colombo (c. 1515 – 1559) was an Italian professor of anatomy and a surgeon at the University of Padua between 1544 and 1559. Early life and education Matteo Realdo Colombo or Realdus Columbus, was born in Cremona, Lombardy, the ...

who claimed to be the discoverer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canano, Giambattista 1515 births 1579 deaths