Mikiel'Ang Grima (also known as Michel'Angelo Grima) (15 September 1729 – 25 August 1798) was a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

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 ...

during the times of the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He was particularly adept at traumatic surgery. Grima was able to open

bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters ...

s and remove

stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

in only two and a half minutes.

Biography

Early life

Grima was born in about 1729.Virtual Medical History Museum: PORTRAIT GALLERY: Michel'Angelo Grima
at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

; retrieved September 17, 2013 At age twelve he began his studies about surgery in the Holy Infirmary in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

. He continued his medical studies abroad in the University of Pisa and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He obtained a doctorate in medicine and philosophy in 1754. Grima remained in Florence and worked at the

Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova (i.e. ''Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova'' in Italian) is the oldest hospital still active in Florence, Italy. History and artistic profile Origins The hospital was founded in 1288 by Folco Portinari, the father ...

. Where he carried out experiments on live dogs, and published his findings in a book entitled ''Del Nuovo Metodo di Cucire gl'Intestini.'' Grima left Florence as an approved surgeon in 1758 and, by the permission of the

Order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

arrived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1760 and served as a medic with the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

troops during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Where he wrote his second book about his work on the wounded soldiers, entitled ''Della Medicina Traumatica''. This book was published in 1773.

Return to Malta

Grima returned to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1763 and was immediately given the post of Chief Surgeon at the Holy Infirmary. Two years later he started lecturing on

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 ...

and surgery, and became holder of the Chair of Anatomy and Surgery. In 1771 he was nominated as lecturer in surgery and anatomy in two Italian colleges, yet he remained in Malta. Later on in 1781 Grima published a textbook, the ''Istituzioni d'Anatomia'', to complement his lectures. Medical students from all over

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

travelled to

to learn under his tutorage. In 1783, Grandmaster

Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc Fra' Emmanuel Marie des Neiges de Rohan-Polduc (18 April 1725, in La Mancha, Spain – 14 July 1797, in Valletta, Malta) was a member of the wealthy and influential Rohan family of France, and Prince and 70th Grand Master of the Order of St. Joh ...

commissioned him to test the legitimacy of the remedial measures of Mesmer's method of

animal magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...

. Grima retired in 1797 and died on 25 August 1798. He is buried in the Church of the Minor Observants of St. Francis in

References

1729 births 1798 deaths 18th-century Maltese physicians People from Valletta Maltese surgeons {{Malta-bio-stub