Jacob Benignus Winsløw, also known as Jacques-Bénigne Winslow (17 April 1669 – 3 April 1760), was a Danish-born French

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

Life

Winsløw was born in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark. Later he became a pupil and successor of

Guichard Joseph Duverney Joseph Guichard Duverney or Joseph-Guichard Du Verney (; 5 August 1648 – 10 September 1730) was a French anatomist known for his work in comparative anatomy and for his treatise on the ear. The fracture of the iliac wing of the pelvis is so ...

, as well as a convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, naturalized in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and finally became professor of anatomy at the

Jardin du Roi The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He greatly admired Bishop

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and lit ...

, the famous preacher who had been instrumental in his conversion, and changed his first name to that of Bossuet. Winsløw died in Paris.

Work

His main work, with many translations, was ''Exposition anatomique de la structure du corps humain'', published in 1732. His exposition of the structure of the human body is distinguished for being not only the first treatise of descriptive

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

, divested of physiological details and hypothetical explanations foreign to the subject, but for being a close description derived from actual objects, without reference to the writings of previous anatomists. About the same time

William Cheselden William Cheselden (; 19 October 168810 April 1752) was an English surgeon and teacher of anatomy and surgery, who was influential in establishing surgery as a scientific medical profession. Via the medical missionary Benjamin Hobson, his wor ...

in London, the first Alexander Monro in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and

Bernhard Siegfried Albinus Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (originally Weiss; 24 February 16979 September 1770) was a Germany, German-born Netherlands, Dutch anatomist. He served a professor of medicine at the Leiden University, University of Leiden like his father Bernhardus ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, contributed by their several treatises to render anatomy still more precise as a descriptive science. The ''Osteographia'' of the first-mentioned was of much use in directing attention to the study of the

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

and the morbid changes to which it is liable. In 1742, he addressed the question of the sure signs of death and

premature burial Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of ...

(burial alive), in his thesis "The uncertainty of the

signs of death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shor ...

, and the danger of precipitate interments and dissections". (in French : ''Dissertation sur l'incertitude des signes de la mort, et des enterremens & embaumemens précipités''). The

omental foramen In human anatomy, the omental foramen (epiploic foramen, foramen of Winslow after the anatomist Jacob B. Winslow, or uncommonly aditus; ) is the passage of communication, or foramen, between the greater sac, and the lesser sac of the peritoneal ...

, which he first described, is still known under the alternative name of "Winslow's foramen". Jacob Winslow is credited with first documenting the existence of the

foramen spinosum The foramen spinosum is a Foramen, small open hole in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone that gives passage to the middle meningeal artery and vein, and the meningeal branch of the mandibular nerve (sometimes it passes through the Foramen ova ...

Sources

* Egill Snorrason, ''Anatomen J. B. Winsløw 1669-1760'', Nyt Nordisk Forlag, 1969.

References

External links

* ''Exposition anatomique de la structure du corps humain'' online: ** (1732) ** (1776) **
Short biography
on

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 bibliograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winslow, Jacob B. 1669 births 1760 deaths People from Odense Emigrants from Denmark–Norway Converts to Roman Catholicism Danish anatomists Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Winsløw family Immigrants to France

Life

Work

See also

Sources

References

External links