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A Moment in History 
Title page of "Anathomia Corporis Humanis" by Mondino de Luzzi
Alessandra Giliani
(1307 – 1326)
Italian prosector and anatomist. Alessandra Giliani is the first woman to be on record as being an anatomist and prossector. She was born on 1307 in the town of Persiceto in northern Italy.
She was admitted to the University of Bologna circa 1323. Most probably she studied philosophy and the foundations of anatomy and medicine. She studied under Mondino de Luzzi (c.1270 – 1326), one of the most famous teachers at Bologna.
Giliani was the prosector for the dissections performed at the Bolognese “studium” in the Bologna School of Anatomy. She developed a technique (now lost to history) to highlight the vascular tree in a cadaver using fluid dyes which would harden without destroying them. Giliani would later paint these structures using a small brush. This technique allowed the students to see even small veins.
Giliani died at the age of 19 on March 26, 1326, the same year that her teacher Mondino de Luzzi died. It is said that she was buried in front of the Madonna delle Lettere in the church of San Pietro e Marcellino at the Hospital of Santa Maria del Mareto in Florence by Otto Agenius Lustrulanus, another assistant to Modino de Luzzi.
Some ascribe to Agenius a love interest in Giliani because of the wording of the plaque that is translated as follows:
"In this urn enclosed are the ashes of the body of
Alessandra Giliani, a maiden of Persiceto.
Skillful with her brush in anatomical demonstrations
And a disciple equaled by few,
Of the most noted physician, Mondino de Luzzi,
She awaits the resurrection.
She lived 19 years: She died consumed by her labors
March 26, in the year of grace 1326.
Otto Agenius Lustrulanus, by her taking away
Deprived of his better part, inconsolable for his companion,
Choice and deservinging of the best from himself,
Has erected this plaque"
Sir William Osler says of Alessandra Giliani “She died, consumed by her labors, at the early age of nineteen, and her monument is still to be seen”
The teaching of anatomy in the times of Mondino de Luzzi and Alessandra Giliani required the professor to be seated on a high chair or “cathedra” from whence he would read an anatomy book by Galen or another respected author while a prosector or “ostensor” would demonstrate the structures to the student. The professor would not consider coming down from the cathedra to discuss the anatomy shown. This was changed by Andreas Vesalius.
The image in this article is a close up of the title page of Mondino’s “Anothomia Corporis Humani” written in 1316, but published in 1478. Click on the image for a complete depiction of this title page. I would like to think that the individual doing the dissection looking up to the cathedra and Mondino de Luzzi is Alessandra Giliani… we will never know.
The life and death of Alessandra Giliani has been novelized in the fiction book “A Golden Web” by Barbara Quick.
Sources
1. “Books of the Body: Anatomical Ritual and Renaissance Learning” Carlino, A. U Chicago Press, 1999
2. “Encyclopedia of World Scientists” Oakes, EH. Infobase Publishing, 2002
3. “The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science”Harvey, J; Ogilvie, M. Vol1. Routledge 2000
4. “The Evolution of Modern Medicine” Osler, W. Yale U Press 1921
5. “The Mondino Myth” Pilcher, LS. 1906
Original image courtesy of NLM
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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. |
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| 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: |
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