Hieronymus Fabricius Explained

Hieronymus Fabricius
Birth Date:20 May 1533
Birth Place:Acquapendente
Death Place:Padua
Nationality:Italian
Field:Anatomy
Work Institutions:University of Padua
Education:University of Padua (M.D., 1559)
Doctoral Advisor:Gabriele Falloppio
Doctoral Students:William Harvey
Adriaan van den Spiegel
Johannes Heurnius
Jan Jesenius

Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, also known as Girolamo Fabrizio or Hieronymus Fabricius (20 May 1533  - 21 May 1619), was a pioneering anatomist and surgeon known in medical science as "The Father of Embryology."

Life and accomplishments

Born in Acquapendente, Latium, Fabricius studied at the University of Padua, receiving a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1559 under the guidance of Gabriele Falloppio. He was a private teacher of anatomy in Padua, 1562–1565,[1] and in 1565, became professor of surgery and anatomy at the university, succeeding Falloppio.[2] [3]

In 1594 he revolutionized the teaching of anatomy when he designed the first permanent theater for public anatomical dissections.[2] Julius Casserius (1552–1616) of Piacenza was among Fabricius' students,[4] Anselmus Boetius de Boodt (1550-1632) also received his lessons there in 1586.[5] William Harvey (1578–1657) and Adriaan van den Spiegel (1578–1625) also studied under Fabricius, beginning around 1598. Julius Casserius would later succeed Fabricius as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Padua in 1604, and Adriaan van den Spiegel succeeded Casserius in that position in 1615.[4]

By dissecting animals, Fabricius investigated the formation of the fetus, the structure of the esophagus, stomach and intestines, and the peculiarities of the eye, the ear, and the larynx. He rediscovered the membranous folds that he called "valves" in the interior of veins, though they were first described by Charles Estienne in 1545. Fabricius rediscovered them in 1574, and was the first to fully describe them including their function in 1603.[6] These valves are now understood to prevent retrograde flow of blood within the veins, thus facilitating antegrade flow of blood towards the heart, though Fabricius did not understand their role at that time. His pupil William Harvey deduced the circulation of blood.

In his Tabulae Pictae, now kept in the Marciana Library in Venice, Fabricius described the cerebral fissure separating the temporal lobe from the frontal lobe.[7] However, Fabricius' discovery was not recognized until recently. Instead, Danish anatomist Caspar Bartholin credits Franciscus Sylvius with the discovery, and Bartholin's son Thomas named it the Sylvian fissure in the 1641 edition of the textbook Institutiones anatomicae.[8]

The Bursa Fabricii (the site of hematopoiesis in birds) is named after Fabricius. A manuscript entitled De Formatione Ovi et Pulli, found among his lecture notes after his death, was published in 1621. It contains the first description of the bursa.[9]

Fabricius contributed much to the field of surgery. Though he never actually performed a tracheotomy, his writings include descriptions of the surgical technique. He favored using a vertical incision and was the first to introduce the idea of a tracheostomy tube. This was a straight, short cannula that incorporated wings to prevent the tube from disappearing into the trachea. He recommended the operation only as a last resort, to be used in cases of airway obstruction by foreign bodies or secretions. Fabricius' description of the tracheotomy procedure is similar to that used today.

Julius Casserius published his own writings regarding technique and equipment for tracheotomy.[4] Casserius recommended using a curved silver tube with several holes in it. Marco Aurelio Severino (1580–1656), a skilful surgeon and anatomist, performed at least one tracheotomy during a diphtheria epidemic in Naples in 1610, using the vertical incision technique recommended by Fabricius.[10]

Books

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Westfall. Richard S.. Fabrici [Fabricius, Fabrizi], Girolamo]. The Galileo Project. 2018-04-14.
  2. Sean B. Smith . Veronica Macchi . Anna Parenti . Raffaele De Caro . Hieronymous Fabricius Ab Acquapendente (1533–1619). Clinical Anatomy. 17. 7. 540–543. 2004. 15376290. 10.1002/ca.20022. 74432738 .
  3. Web site: Fabricius Geronimo. Latinized name of Girolamo Fabrizio . 2010-05-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110606121639/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/biographies/MainBiographies/F/Fabricius/1.html . 2011-06-06 .
  4. Book: Julius Casserius (Giulio Casserio) and Daniel Bucretius . Tabulae anatomicae LXXIIX … Daniel Bucretius … XX. que deerant supplevit & omnium explicationes addidit . Impensis & coelo Matthaei Meriani . Francofurti . la . 1632 . 3 September 2010.
  5. Zylberman . Nicolas . 2022 . Anselme Boece de Boodt, 1550 – 1632, gemmologue praticien. De Bruges à Prague, itinéraire européen d'un humaniste - 1ère partie . Ikuska . 53 . 53 . Academia.
  6. AH . Scultetus . JL . Villavicencio . NM . Rich . Facts and fiction surrounding the discovery of the venous valves . Journal of Vascular Surgery . February 2001 . 33 . 2 . 435–441 . 10.1067/mva.2001.109772 . 11174802 . en . 0741-5214. free .
  7. Collice. M. Collice. R. Riva. A. Who discovered the sylvian fissure?. Neurosurgery. 63. 4. 623–628. 2008. 10.1227/01.NEU.0000327693.86093.3F. 18981875. 207140931.
  8. Book: Caspar. Bartholini . Caspar Bartholin the Elder. Institutiones anatomicae, novis recentiorum opinionibus and observationibus quarum innumerae hactenus editae non sunt, figurisque auctae ab auctoris filio Thoma Bartholino. Bartholin . Thomas. Thomas Bartholin. Apud Franciscum Hackium. Lugdunum Batavorum. la. 1641.
  9. Book: Adelman . HB. The Embryological Treatises of Hieronymus Fabricius of Aquapendente: The Formation of the Egg and of the Chick (De Formatione Ovi et Pulli), The Formed Fetus (De Formato Foetu). 1. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, New York. 1967. 147–191. 2 September 2010.
  10. 10.1136/bmj.1.5179.1129. Armytage. WHG. Giambattista Della Porta and the segreti. British Medical Journal. 1. 5179. 1129–1130. 1960. 1966956.
  11. Web site: Gilson. Hilary. De Formatione Ovi et Pulli (1621), by Girolamo Fabrici. The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. 2018-04-14. 30 September 2008.

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