Giovanni Maria Lancisi

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Giovanni Maria Lancisi

Giovanni Maria Lancisi (born October 26, 1654 in Rome , † January 20, 1720 ibid) was an Italian physician , cardiologist, epidemiologist and naturalist.

Life

Lancisi comes from a well-to-do middle-class family, first studied theology, but broke off this course and studied botany, chemistry, astronomy and medicine at the Collegio di Sapienza of the University of Rome. At the age of 18 he was awarded a Dr. med. PhD. From 1676 to 1678 he was an assistant doctor at the Hospital Santo Spirito . He supplemented his medical knowledge theoretically for five years by studying specialist literature at the Collegio San Salvatore . From 1684 to 1697 he was professor of anatomy at the Collegio di Sapienza . Lancisi was founded in 1688 by Pope Innocent XI. appointed as personal physician and in this function also served his successors Innocent XII. as well as Clemens XI.

His scientific achievements include knowledge of hygiene , which he gained in particular through the consistent documentation of epidemiological observations. He had found that febrile illnesses , which often led to death, fell sharply when the swamps around Rome were drained.

From this he drew the conclusion in 1717 in his work De noxiis paludum effluvis that mosquitoes and mosquitoes acted as carriers of pathogens, whereby he assumed “harmful substances” as the transmitted agent. He set himself in opposition to the idea at the time that these diseases were triggered by the effects of mal aria , ie “bad air”. His further findings relate, among other things, to diseases such as flu , rinderpest and, above all, malaria . Other important works are De subitaneis mortibus (1707) and De motu cordis et aneurysmatibus (1728).

Together with Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli he published a book in 1714 with the title Dissertatio de Generatione Fungorum…. , in which both contradict the view, which has been widespread since ancient times , that fungi arise from putrefaction, with the mycelium being an intermediate stage between rotting plants and fungi. In doing so you are resolutely opposing the idea of spontaneous generation that has existed since antiquity .

The septal papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve of the heart is named after Lancisi. The stria longitudinalis medialis corporis callosi (a fine bundle of fibers on the large commissure between the cerebral hemispheres) is called the "Nervus Lancisii".

Contribution to a modern curriculum for medical studies

In his work " De recta medicorum studiorum ratione " (Rome 1715) Lancisi advocated a modern medical training model. He had a curriculum in mind that would be based on the two pillars "Learning in the Hospital" and "Learning in the Library". On the one hand, the pupil should attend the Protomedicus' visit to the sick and, on the other hand, should deal with the new natural philosophy in the library. Lancisi hoped that this would bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Honors

1706 Lancisi was accepted as a member ( Fellow ) in the Royal Society . In 1707 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . The Biblioteca Lancisiana in Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, founded in 1714, is named after Lancisi .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Barbara I. Tshisuaka: Lancisi, Giovanni Maria. 2005, p. 821.
  2. ↑ cf. Francesco Trevisani 1995, 2001, 2006.
  3. ^ Entry on Lancisi, Giovanni Maria (1654 - 1720) in the archive of the Royal Society , London
  4. ^ Member entry Leopoldina: GM Lancisi , accessed on December 7, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Lancisi, Giovanni Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian physician and naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1654
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH January 20, 1720
Place of death Rome