Mauro Ruscóni (18 November 1776 in
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
- 27 March 1849 in
Tremezzina) is an
Italian physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
.
Biography
Coming from a respected merchant family, he finished his studies in his native town and in the 1790s, swept away by the political events of his time: he joined the army of the
Cisalpine Republic fighting alongside the French in the
war of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...
. He became an artillery captain and when the fortress of
Mantua
Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
surrendered to the Austrians in 1799, he was in the garrison of the fortress.
After a stay in Paris, he resumed his medical studies in Pavia where he obtained his doctorate in 1806 and in 1807 he was
repeater in medicine at the
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...
, post where he was active until 1817. From 1818 onwards, he devoted himself solely to zoology.
[.]
After the
events of 1848, suffering and ill, he left Pavia and went to
Lake Como, where he died some time later.
His work deals with the anatomy and metamorphosis of fish, frogs, salamanders and other reptiles. He was the author of research in animal
embryology
Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...
and
comparative anatomy on the reproduction of
newts and on the development of the
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
: he was the first to observe and report exactly the
segmentation of the egg as well as the formation of the
morula and the
blastopore. Unfortunately the fact that he did not have a real academic position prevented him from having a real scientific career and getting the reputation he deserved. Moreover, despite his skill in dissecting and preparing samples, he did not leave any collections.
On 23 June 1831, the
Institut de France awarded him the gold medal for one of his works. Around 1838, the
Lombard Academy had accepted him as one of its members and the
Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna had included him among its members since its creation (1 February 1848). He was also a member of the academies of
Modena,
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, Paris and the Vienna Medical Society. He was in constant scientific contact with the most important naturalists of his country of origin, but also with those of his time, such as
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...
or
Lorenz Oken
Lorenz Oken (1 August 1779 – 11 August 1851) was a Germans, German natural history, naturalist, botany, botanist, biologist, and ornithology, ornithologist.
Biography
Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss () in Bohlsbach (now part of Offenburg), Ortena ...
.
Works
Descrizione anatomica degli organi della circolazione delle larve delle salamandre acquatiche(1817)
Amours des salamandres aquatiques et développement du têtard de ces salamandres depuis l’œuf jusqu’à l'animal parfait(1821)
Observations on the natural history and structure of the Proteus anguinus(1821)
Développement de la grenouille commune depuis le moment de sa naissance jusqu'à son état parfait(1826)
Observations anatomiques sur la sirène : mise en parallèle avec le protée et le têtard de la salamandre aquatique(1837)
Riflessioni sopra il sistema linfatico dei rettili(1845)
Histoire naturelle, développement et métamorphose de la Salamandre terrestre(1854) (posthumous work)
Legacy
A street is named after him in Pavia from via Felice Cavallotti to via Siro Comi.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusconi, Mauro
19th-century Italian physicians
University of Pavia alumni
1776 births
1849 deaths
Italian zoologists
People from Pavia
Physicians from the Austrian Empire