 |
Medical Terminology Daily (MTD) is a blog sponsored by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc. as a service to the medical community, medical students, and the medical industry. We will post a workweek daily medical or surgical term, its meaning and usage, as well as biographical notes on anatomists, surgeons, and researchers through the ages. Be warned that some of the images used depict human anatomical specimens. Click on the link below to subscribe to the MTD newsletter. If you think an article could be interesting to somebody else, click on the mail link at the top of each article to forward it. You are welcome to submit questions and suggestions using our "Contact Us" form. The information on this blog follows the terms on our "Privacy and Security Statement" and cannot be construed as medical guidance or instructions for treatment. Click here to subscribe to the Medical Terminology Daily Newsletter  |
We have 57 guests online
Original image courtesy of National Institutes of Health
Giovanni Battista Morgagni
(1682 - 1771)
Italian anatomist, physician, and pathologist, Morgagni was born in the city of Forli. He started his medical studies at the University of Bologna, graduating in 1701 with a degree in Medicine and Philosophy. In 1712 he became a professor of anatomy at the University of Padua, Italy, 175 years after Andreas Vesalius. Morgagni was offered and accepted the Chair of Anatomy in 1715 at the University of Padua. Although Morgagni held a position at the anatomy department of the University of Padua, his name is associated mostly with his pathological studies.
1. "A Note From History:The First Printed Case Reports of Cancer" Hadju, S.I. Cancer 2010;116:2493–8
2. "Giovanni Battista Morgagni" Klotz, O. Can Med Assoc J 1932 27:3 298-303
3. "Morgagni (1682 -1771)" JAMA 1964 187:12 948-950
Morgagni was interested in the works of Theophile Boneti (1620 - 1689), who started analyzing the correlation between post-mortem anatomical findings and diseases. He tried to establish a relation between the disease and the cause of death. In 1761 Morgagni published his most influential work "De Sedibus et Causis Morburum Per Anatomen Indagatis" (On the Sites and Causes of Diseases, Investigated by Dissection). His work was essential for pathological anatomy to be recognized as a science in itself.
Morgagni was elected to become a member of several Academies of Science and Surgery: The Royal Society of London, The Academy of Science in Paris, The Berlin Academy of Science, and the Imperial Academy of Saint Petersburg in Russia. He is remembered today by several eponyms in anatomy and pathology:• Morgagni's caruncle or lobe, referring to the miidle lobe of the prostate
• Morgagni's columns: the anal (or anorectal) colums
• Morgagni's concha, referring to the superior nasal concha
• Morgagni's foramina: two hiatuses in the respiratory diaphragm allowing for passage of the superior epigastric vessels
• Morgagni's hernia: an hiatal hernia through Morgagni's foramen, in the respiratory diaphragm
• Morgagni's ventricle: an internal pouch or dilation between the true and false vocal cords in the larynx
• Morgagni's nodules: the nodules at the point of coaptation of the leaflets (cusps) of the pulmonary valve. Erroneously called the "nodules of Arantius", which are only found in the aortic valve
1. "A Note From History:The First Printed Case Reports of Cancer" Hadju, S.I. Cancer 2010;116:2493–8
2. "Giovanni Battista Morgagni" Klotz, O. Can Med Assoc J 1932 27:3 298-303
3. "Morgagni (1682 -1771)" JAMA 1964 187:12 948-950
"Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc., and the contributors of "Medical Terminology Daily" wish to thank all individuals who donate their bodies and tissues for the advancement of education and research”.
Click here for more information
Sir William Osler
This article is part of the series "A Moment in History" where we honor those who have contributed to the growth of medical knowledge in the areas of anatomy, medicine, surgery, and medical research.To search all the articles in this series, click here. |
|
| Sir William Osler (1849-1919). William Osler was born in Bond Head, Canada, in what today is known as Ontario, of English parents. He started his college studies to become a minister, but realizing his true vocation was in medicine, he entered the Toronto School of Medicine, earning his medical degree in 1872.
Osler completed postgraduate studies in Europe, returning as a Professor at the McGill University. In 1884 he moved to Philadelphia to the University of Pennsylvania. In 1889 he left to become Physician-in-Chief and one of the founders of the newly-built John Hopkins hospital. His contributions to this new hospital and the American medical education are innumerable. Dr. Osler initiated the residency programs used today, as well as the programs of third and fourth year medical students in bedside patient rounds. A prolific writer, Dr. Osler penned over 1,500 articles, monographs, and books, some of which are famous. His “Principles and Practice of Medicine” was published for a record 17 editions and 76 years (1892 -1968)! One of his most famous addresses is “Aequanimitas”, which he delivered when leaving the University of Pennsylvania. |
 Original image courtesy of "Images from the History of Medicine" at www.nih.gov |
| In 1905 Dr. Osler accepted the position of Royal Chair of Medicine at Oxford, in England, and in 1911 he was awarded the title of “Sir William Osler”.
Personal Note: In June 1999, I had the opportunity to visit the collection of the John Martin Rare Book Room at the University of Iowa Medical School. I was allowed to read and handle original copies of the Fabrica and the Epitome by Vesalius as well as other original and rare medical books, including De Muto Cordis, by William Harvey. The books I had the opportunity to review were placed on an antique desk that belonged to Sir William Osler. A moment that has stayed with me, as it was the confluence of great individuals: Andreas Vesalius, the anatomist; William Harvey, the physiologist, and Sir William Osler, the medical educator. Dr. Miranda Sources: |
|
