1,721,007 research outputs found
Frogs’ lungs and Malpighi’s discovery of pulmonary capillaries
Full text linkIn 1661, Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), one of the most important 17th-century anatomists and physicians, published two epistles entitled De pulmonibus (On the lungs), both addressed to Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (1608-1679). In the first letter, thanks to the help of the microscope, Malpighi proved that the lungs were not fleshy, but that they had a vesicular structure. Moreover, with these new anatomical findings, he also revised the traditional view on pulmonary function: lungs do not cool the heart, as was previously supposed, but mix the blood. In the second letter, Malpighi decided to perform dissections of frogs. Assisted by his colleague and friend Carlo Fracassati (1630?-1672), he observed the arteriovenous anastomoses in the pulmonary circulation. Magnifying tools and new anatomical procedures allowed him to prove not only this mutual union of arteries and veins, but also that blood moves in opposed directions: thanks to these observations, Malpighi provided a strong evidence supporting Harvey’s theory of blood circulation. However, Borelli, whose collaboration was pivotal, challenged Malpighi’s view on pulmonary function. According to him, lungs do not mix blood, but divide blood particles into their smallest parts. Therefore, their function is not that of mixing, but that of generating blood, due to the triggering action exerted by the air particles. This paper aims at analysing all these issues within Malpighi’s research program and showing the progress achieved by the Italian microscopic anatomy in the second half of 17th century
L'arte di prolungare la vita. Medici, filosofi e alchimisti alla ricerca della longevità
No full textLa ricerca del segreto della longevità ha da sempre rappresentato una delle sfide più audaci per l’uomo. Grazie ai progressi della scienza oggi sperimentiamo una notevole estensione delle nostre aspettative di vita. Ma è davvero solo un problema di quantità? Il dibattito sul prolungamento della vita, che affonda le sue radici nella medicina antica, attraversa temi fondamentali per la riflessione filosofica e scientifica occidentale: dalle categorie di vita e morte all’essenza della natura umana, dai problemi della vecchiaia ai limiti di intervento dell’uomo. Come è possibile contenere o perfino arrestare il naturale processo degenerativo del nostro corpo? Su quali argomenti si fonda questa sfida? Questo libro ricostruisce la storia di questo affascinante dibattito, ripercorrendone gli sviluppi nella medicina di età moderna, con uno sguardo particolare ai processi di invecchiamento, al rapporto tra alimentazione e corruttibilità dei corpi, alle possibilità della medicina di intervenire in questi processi
The discovery of lymphatic system as a turning point in medical knowledge: Aselli, Pecquet and the end of hepatocentrism
Full text linkIn this paper, I would like to analyse the impact of the discovery of lymphatic system on the development of the modern conception of human body. The discovery of lymphatics, as that of blood circulation, has in fact questioned important tenets of Galen's anatomo-physiology. Galen defended a 'dualistic conception' of the blood: he distinguished two different systems, the hepatic-venous system and the cardio-arterial one. The liver played a pivotal role because it was believed to transform the chyle received by the portal vein into venous blood. The discovery of lymphatics challenged this view: 17th-century anatomical dissections and experiments, starting with the discovery of milky veins by Gaspare Aselli (1581-1625) and the studies on thoracic duct by Jean Pecquet (1622-1674), irrefutably showed that the chyle does not pour out in the liver and that, consequently, the liver does not produce blood
‘Nature is More Subtle Than Any Mathematician’: Giorgio Baglivi on Fluids in the Human Body
No full textA very common view describes iatromechanism—which seeks to explain every bodily process, even pathology, on a purely mechanical basis—as opposed to iatrochemistry, which focuses on medicine through the lens of chemistry. Giorgio Baglivi (1668–1707), a proponent of a mechanistic and solidistic view, shows how misleading this strict distinction can be. While rejecting the chemical medicine of his time, Baglivi dealt with numerous chemical issues strictly related to the role of body fluids, on which he carried out rigorous and verified tests and experiments. This “anatomy of fluids” plays an indispensable role in explaining diseases, finding new remedies and understanding the body itself. Baglivi realised that diseases caused by a certain corruption of fluids are not as easy to study as those involving solids, and that pathology is not simply a malfunctioning machine. In Baglivi’s view, this knowledge should only be based on direct experience with nature
Realdo Colombo, De re anatomica libri XV. Anatomia, edited by Gianluigi Baldo
No full textRecensione di: Realdo Colombo, De re anatomica libri XV. Anatomia, edited by Gianluigi Baldo (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2014)
Santorini, Giovanni Domenico
Full text linkVoce biografica sul medico e anatomista veneziano Giovanni Domenico Santorini (1681-1737)
Giorgio Baglivi, Della tarantola. Lo studio di un medico nel Salento del XVII secolo, edited by Concetta Pennuto
No full textRecensione del libro: Giorgio Baglivi, Della tarantola. Lo studio di un medico nel Salento del XVII secolo, a cura di Concetta Pennuto (Roma: Carocci, 2015)
Corpus fasciculus fibrarum: teoria della fibra e pratica medica nel De praxi medica di Giorgio Baglivi
No full textLa ricerca di Giorgio Baglivi (1668-1707) si concentra su due temi principali: la riforma della pratica medica secondo un indirizzo ippocratico-baconiano (De praxi medica, 1696) e la definizione di una fisiopatologia fibrillare (De fibra motrice et morbosa, 1702). Sebbene pubblicate in tempi diversi, queste due opere sono in realtà strettamente collegate fra loro. In questo breve contributo, sosterrò che l’ipotesi fibrillare è già implicita nel De praxi medica, dove Baglivi, commentando un passo del De alimento di Ippocrate, afferma che il corpo umano è un «fasciculus fibrarum». Molte questioni sono qui in gioco:
in particolare, il rapporto tra solidi e fluidi del corpo, che esaminerò attraverso l’esempio dei vescicanti, dibattuto da Baglivi nel De usu et abusu vesicantium, una dissertazione inclusa nel De praxi medica.Giorgio Baglivi’s research was mainly concerned with the reform of medical praxis according to a Hippocratic-Baconian methodology (De praxi medica, 1696), and the definition of a physiopathology based on the notion of fibre (De fibra motrice et morbosa, 1702). Although published at different times, these two works are closely connected to each other. In this short paper, I will argue that the fibrillary hypothesis is already implicit in De praxi medica, where Baglivi, commenting on a passage from Hippocrates’ De alimento, claims that the human body is a “fasciculus fibrarum.” Several issues are at stake here: in particular, the relationship between the solids and fluids of the body, which will be examined through the example of vesicants, debated by Baglivi in De usu et abusu vesicantium, a short dissertation included in De praxi medica
Bodies in Balance: Santorio’s Legacy in Baglivi’s Medicine
No full textOne of the main representatives of iatromechanics, the Croatian physician Giorgio Baglivi (1668–1707) strongly supported and practised Santorio’s principles in his medicine. His Canones de medicina solidorum (1704), a commentary on Santorio’s Medicina statica, was repeatedly printed throughout the eighteenth century. Canones, however, are something completely different from an ordinary line-by-line commentary: Baglivi rather tries to corroborate his views in physiology and pathology by means of an original and new-fashioned interpretation of Santorio’s work
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