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Paolo Mascagni and Alessandro Moreschi: the intellectual property right on the discovery of the vascular structure of urethral tissue.
No full textIn the beginning of the XIX century, when both vascular and cellular texture theories concerning the penis structure were still coexisting, three figures were involved in the controversy about the priority of the discovery of the vascular nature of human erectile tissues: Paolo Mascagni (1755-1815), represented by his pupil Tommaso Farnese (1780-1829), and Alessandro Moreschi (1771-1826). In the Elogio del celebre anatomico Paolo Mascagni (1816), Farnese attributed to his mentor the demonstration in 1809 of the continuity between arteries and veins and the description of venous plexuses, this term replacing the previous and misleading name of spongy body attributed to the inner part of penis. But in 1817 Moreschi inflamed the dispute, claiming for the priority of that discovery, with the publication of his anatomical work and a polemical essay against Farnese. Farnese promptly replied with Note addizionali del Dottore Tommaso Farnese al suo elogio di Paolo Mascagni (1818), where he reported a meeting with Moreschi in Bologna in 1810. In that occasion, Farnese explained a Mascagni’s technique to perfuse urethral blood vessels that Moreschi would have plagiarized. Furthermore, Farnese also included eight testimonies claiming to have seen Mascagni performing such injections before 1810. The Prodromo della grande anatomia, a posthumous work of Mascagni edited in1819, includes a plate dedicated to the structure of the urethra and a comprehensive view of this scientific story. In short, Mascagni developed a technique to inject urethral blood vessels, but Moreschi was the first to publish an accurate work on this subject. For this reason, many Italian and international authors have attribut-ed to the latter the discovery of the venous circulation of the urethra
Further data corroborating a pituitary contribution to the genesis of the Cyclopean myth
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Medical eponyms versus acronyms: what medical terminology is most beneficial to learn? A question of goals
No full textHow do students approach the study of the history of med-icine? Some considerations after the final exams at the first year and fourth year
No full textBackground and aim: Reports about the teaching of the History of Medicine in universities world-wide can be found easily in medical literature. They are often comparative studies in which the opinions provided by the professors are collected and the teaching programs are compared. Our study focuses instead on the relationship between the students and the discipline, what they look for from it, and how their interest changes with the progress of the course of study. Methods: The final tests of the students of two Italian universities, Parma and Bologna, were analyzed, in which the candidate had the ability to choose the topic of discussion and to outline his personal analysis. The course year in which the final examination was faced is different: in the first year in Bologna, in the fourth year in Parma. Results: This survey show that in both universities most students have carried out autonomous research regardless of the educational material made available to them. This attitude can be interpreted as a real interest in the history of medicine, widening their search throughout all the fields of the discipline. Conclusions: These results seem to suggest to teachers of History of Medicine to convey to their students the methodology of historical and epistemological research, giving the student to the pupils the opportunity to become passionate about history in the way he/she prefers. (www.actabiomedica.it)
The last battle of Alessandro Farnese (1545-1592): Some medical considerations regarding the health of the renaissance leader who changed Europe
No full textBackground and aim: Alessandro Farnese (1545-1592), 3rd Duke of Parma and Piacenza, one of the most important generals and politicians of his age. He died after a rapid deterioration of his health. The available documents testify that the Duke suffered for a long time from various health problems, such as jaundice, intestinal disorders, gout, dropsy but very little is known about the cause(s) of his death. The aim of this article is to offer for the first time a complete clinical interpretation of Alessandro Farnese’s last months of life Methods: A collection of descriptions of symptoms and signs described by his court physician and by the leading biographers of Farnese has been compiled. This collected medical evidence has been interpreted in the light of current medical knowledge, to obtain a final interpretation. Results: The results led us to consider liver diseases, neoplastic diseases (especially pancres) and infectious diseases (including typhus and malaria) as causes or contributing causes of death. Conclusions: The accurate autopsy description, in association with the anamnestic information provided by the historical documents studied, suggests that Alessandro Farnese was a hepatopathic patient suffering from spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. In the pre-antibiotic era, the pathologi-cal organ alterations described certainly have at least contributed to making the infectious episode (that the autopsy describes of pulmonary origin) fatal. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Cesare Magati (1579-1647) and Flaminio Rota (1555-1611): medical diatribes in the early 17th century
No full textTuberculosis: a timeless challenge for medicine
Full text linkHistory of Medicine is not a discipline destined to culturally enrich only those who work in the health sector. All historians know very well how some medical events have influenced the course of history. In particular, infectious diseases, being interconnected with political, social, economic and war issues, have an important historical significance.Microbial agents are invisible enemies ready to undermine mankind and to find prosperity in human misery.Tuberculosis, better than other, is well suited to study the epistemological path of medical thought, from its origins to the present day.From the Hippocratic and Galenic thought to the anatomo-clinical method, from the advent of microbiology to the antibiotic era up to the postantibiotic era, recognizing the timeless need to implement valid social policies and effective preventive medicine actions to achieve satisfactory results
Covid-19 pandemic: an unconventional social media. A way to solve unresolved health issues?
No full textOver the last decade, social media has come to influence human lives in an unprecedented manner and have played a leading role in the Covid-19 pandemic. On one hand, social media has increased the degree of clarity and democracy in sharing scientific data on Covid-19; on the other hand, it has mined democracy by increasing the credibility of personal opinions. Mass media and social media refer to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. It is our opinion that the Covid-19 pandemic itself should be considered a form of social media. Conventional media has taken advantage of this unexpected and not-developed media to expand its capacity of distribution. The name we propose for this new media is pandemic media; a strong media capable to reach the largest audience and promote unresolved health issues, like the importance of washing hands, the need to get vaccinated, the fight against presenteeism, and the usefulness of telemedicine. (www.actabiomedica.it)
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