Filippo Pacini
Filippo Pacini (born May 25, 1812 in Pistoia , † July 9, 1883 in Florence ) was an Italian anatomist .
Live and act
Pacini came from a poor family and was initially supposed to become a theologian. In 1830, however, he received a scholarship to the prestigious Pistoia School of Surgical Medicine. During his medical studies in the anatomy course, he observed narrow, egg-shaped bodies that were connected to various nerves. They were barely visible, so he bought a microscope with his savings and in 1835 discovered these lamellar bodies, first presented by him to the Florentine Società Medico-Fisica and then described in his book Nuove organi scoperti nel corpo umano in 1840 , named after a suggestion by Albert Kölliker from 1844 also known as "Pacinian bodies" ( Nuovi organi scoperti nel corpo umano ) - encapsulated nerve endings that are widespread in the human body. They later proved to be sensitive to pressure and vibration. In German-speaking countries, the tiny structures are called Father Pacini bodies .
Pacini discovered the bacterium Vibrio cholerae as the causative agent of cholera in 1854 . At that time, people still believed in the transmission of infections through bad smells ( miasms ), Pacini's description was often ignored. Filippo Pacini, in 1854, was not alone in speculating that there was a microorganism that could cause cholera. Even Arthur Hill Hassall and John Snow reported in the same year in London the "Medical Council of the General Board of Health" that the hypothesis Pacini is a serious consideration, it would but of myriads of vibriones in every drop of every sample of rice -water discharges swarm .
It was only thirty years later that Robert Koch was able to research the pathogen and prove the connection between microorganism and disease, which was tantamount to confirming Pacini's hypothesis. In 1965 the bacterium was named " Vibrio cholerae Pacini 1854" in his honor .
Works (selection)
- Nuove osservazioni sopra i corpuscoli denominati Corpuscola Pacini. Annali universali di medicina (1845 lug, Series 3, Volume 19, Fascicolo 343)
- Nuovi Organi scoperti nel corpo umano da Filippo Pacini di Pistoia. Pistoia, Tipografia Cino, 1840.
- Sull'ultimo stadio del colera asiatico o stadio di morte apparente dei colerosi e sul modo di farli risorgere. Annali universali di medicina (1873 dic, Series 1, Volume 226, Fascicolo 678)
- Dei fenomeni osmotici e delle funzioni di assorbimento nello organismo. 1873.
- Di alcuni pregiudizi in medicina legale. Firenze, Tipografia Cooperativa, 1876.
- Del processo morboso del colera asiatico. 1879
- Del processo morboso del colera asiatico del suo stadio di morte apparente e (...). 1880
- Sulla struttura intima dell'organo elettrico del gimnoto e di altri pesci.
- Di un mezzo atto a facilitare l'esame microscopico delle macchie del sangue nelle questioni medico-forensi. Lettera del prof. Filippo Pacini a dott. Sonsino - Annali di chimica applicata alla medicina cioè alla farmacia, alla tossicologia, all'igiene, alla fisiologia, alla patologia e alla terapeutica (1872 lug, series 3, volume 55, fascicolo 1)
- Esame microscopico di aque potabili in relazione al cholera - Annali di chimica applicata alla medicina cioè alla farmacia, alla tossicologia, all'igiene, alla fisiologia, alla patologia e alla terapeutica. (1867 dic, series 3, volume 45, fascicolo 6)
literature
- M. Bentivoglio, P. Pacini: Filippo Pacini: a determined observer. In: Brain research bulletin. Volume 38, Number 2, 1995, ISSN 0361-9230 , pp. 161-165, PMID 7583342 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinz-Peter Schmiedebach : Pacini, Filippo. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1087.
- ^ Reinhard Hildebrand: Rudolf Albert Koelliker and his scientific contacts abroad. In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 2, 1984, pp. 101-115; here: p. 111 f.
- ^ AH Hassall, In: Great Britain, General Board of Health, Report of the Committee for Scientific Inquiries in relation to the Cholera Epidemic of 1854. London 1855
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Pacini, Filippo |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian anatomist |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 25, 1812 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pistoia , Italy |
DATE OF DEATH | July 9, 1883 |
Place of death | Florence , Italy |