The father of modern pathological anatomy
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| Giovanni Battista Morgagni taught at the University of Padua for 56 years |
Anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni, who is credited with
turning pathology into a science, was born on this day in 1682 in Forlì in
Emilia-Romagna.
Morgagni was professor of Anatomy at the University of Padua
for 56 years and taught thousands of medical students during his time there.
He was sent by his parents to study philosophy and medicine
at the University of Bologna when he was 18 and he graduated as a doctor from
both faculties.
In 1706 he published his work, Adversaria Anatomica, which
was to be the first volume of a series and helped him become known throughout
Europe as an accurate anatomist.
He succeeded to the chair of theoretical medicine at the
University of Padua in 1712 and was to teach medicine there until his death in
1771.
Morgagni was promoted to the chair of anatomy after his
first three years in Padua, following in the footsteps of many illustrious
scholars. He brought out five more volumes of his Adversaria Anatomica during
his early years in Padua.
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| Morgagni's Adversaria Anatomica helped establish his reputation |
In 1761, when he was nearly 80, he brought out the work that
was to make pathological anatomy into a science – De Sedibus et causis morborum
per anotomem indagatis (Of the seats and cause of diseases investigated through
anatomy). This work, which contained the records of 646 dissections, was later
reprinted several times in its original Latin and translated into French,
English and German.
Morgagni was the first anatomist to understand and to
demonstrate the absolute necessity of basing diagnosis, prognosis and treatment
on an exact and comprehensive knowledge of anatomical conditions. His
precision, thoroughness and freedom from bias are modern scientific qualities
and he was also a widely respected clinician who maintained an active practice.
His treatise was to lead to steady progress in pathology and practical
medicine.
Morgagni had married a noble lady from Forlì during his
early years in Padua who bore him three sons and 12 daughters. He died at the
age of 89 in Padua.
He is today regarded as the father of modern pathological
anatomy as his works helped to make it into an exact science.
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| Forlì's Palazzo Poste e Telegrafi in Piazza Saffi |
Travel tip:
Forlì, where Morgagni was born, is today a prosperous city
with a beautiful main square, Piazza Saffi, named after Aurelio Saffi, a
radical republican who was a prominent figure in the Risorgimento. The square
is dominated by the monumental Palazzo Poste e Telegrafi, designed by Cesare
Bazzani in 1932 to celebrate the Fascist regime. Benito Mussolini was born in
nearby Predappio and blatantly favoured the area of his birth with imposing new
buildings.
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| Palazzo del Bò in the centre of the city is the main building of the University of Padua |
Travel tip:
The University of Padua, where Morgagni taught for most of
his life, was established in 1222 and is one of the oldest in the world, second
in Italy only to the University of Bologna. The main university building,
Palazzo del Bò in Via VIII Febbraio in the centre of Padua, used to house the
medical faculty. You can take a guided tour to see the pulpit used by Galileo
when he taught at the university between 1592 and 1610.
More reading:
Paolo Mascagni, the first physician to map the human lymphatic system
How Gabriele Falloppio made key discoveries about human reproduction
Hieronymus Fabricius, the father of embyology
More reading:
Paolo Mascagni, the first physician to map the human lymphatic system
How Gabriele Falloppio made key discoveries about human reproduction
Hieronymus Fabricius, the father of embyology
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