Bartolomeo Eustachi
Encyclopedia
Bartolomeo Eustachi also known by his Latin
name of Eustachius, was one of the founders of the science of human anatomy
.
, near Macerata
, Italy
, and was a contemporary of Vesalius
, with whom he shares the reputation of having created the science of human anatomy.
He is known as a challenger of Galen
and extended the knowledge of the internal ear by rediscovering and describing correctly the tube
that bears his name. He is the first who described the internal and anterior muscles of the malleus
and the stapedius
, and the complicated figure of the cochlea
. He is the first who studied accurately the anatomy of the teeth, and the phenomena of the first and second dentition. Eustachius also discovered the adrenal glands (reported in 1563).
His greatest work, which he was unable to publish, is his Anatomical Engravings. Completed in 1552, nine years after Vesalius was published, the author feared ex-communication by the Catholic Church.
First published in 1714 by Giovanni Maria Lancisi
, and again in 1744 by Cajetan Petrioli, and again in 1744 by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus
, and subsequently at Bonn
in 1790, the engravings show that Eustachius had dissected with the greatest care and diligence, and taken the utmost pains to give just views of the shape, size, and relative position of the organs of the human body. The fact that his book became a bestseller more than a century after his death shows the extent of the religious restrictions on anatomists all through the Renaissance
.
The first seven plates illustrate the history of the kidneys and some of the facts relating to the structure of the ear. The eighth represents the heart, the ramifications of the vena azygos, and the valve of the vena cava, named from the author. In the seven subsequent plates is given a succession of different views of the viscera of the chest and abdomen. The seventeenth contains the brain and spinal cord; and the eighteenth more accurate views of the origin, course, and distribution of the nerves than had been given before. Fourteen plates are devoted to the muscles.
Eustachius did not confine his researches to the study of relative anatomy. He investigated the intimate structure of organs with assiduity and success. What was too minute for unassisted vision he inspected by means of glasses (early microscopes). Structure that could not be understood in the recent state he unfolded by maceration in different fluids, or rendered more distinct by injection and exsiccation. The facts illustrated by these figures are so important that it has been said that, if the author had been fortunate enough to publish them, anatomy would have attained the perfection of the 18th century at least two centuries earlier. Their seclusion for that period in the papal library has given celebrity to many names that would have been known only in the verification of the discoveries of Eustachius.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
name of Eustachius, was one of the founders of the science of human anatomy
Human anatomy
Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
.
Life
He came from San SeverinoSan Severino
-Places in Italy:*Mercato San Severino, a commune of the Province of Salerno*San Severino Lucano, a commune of the Province of Potenza*San Severino Marche, a commune in the Province of Macerata*San Severino, an hamlet of Centola in the Province of Salerno...
, near Macerata
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and was a contemporary of Vesalius
Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius was a Flemish anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica . Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy. Vesalius is the Latinized form of Andries van Wesel...
, with whom he shares the reputation of having created the science of human anatomy.
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
and extended the knowledge of the internal ear by rediscovering and describing correctly the tube
Eustachian tube
The Eustachian tube is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear. It is a part of the middle ear. In adult humans the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm long. It is named after the sixteenth-century anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachi...
that bears his name. He is the first who described the internal and anterior muscles of the malleus
Malleus
The malleus or hammer is a hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle ear which connects with the incus and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum...
and the stapedius
Stapedius
The stapedius is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body. At just over one millimeter in length, its purpose is to stabilize the smallest bone in the body, the stapes....
, and the complicated figure of the cochlea
Cochlea
The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, making 2.5 turns around its axis, the modiolus....
. He is the first who studied accurately the anatomy of the teeth, and the phenomena of the first and second dentition. Eustachius also discovered the adrenal glands (reported in 1563).
His greatest work, which he was unable to publish, is his Anatomical Engravings. Completed in 1552, nine years after Vesalius was published, the author feared ex-communication by the Catholic Church.
First published in 1714 by Giovanni Maria Lancisi
Giovanni Maria Lancisi
Giovanni Maria Lancisi was an Italian physician, epidemiologist and anatomist who made a correlation between the presence of mosquitoes and the prevalence of malaria...
, and again in 1744 by Cajetan Petrioli, and again in 1744 by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus
Bernhard Siegfried Albinus
Bernhard Siegfried Albinus was a German-born Dutch anatomist.Albinus was born at Frankfurt , where his father, Bernhard Albinus , was professor of the practice of medicine...
, and subsequently at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
in 1790, the engravings show that Eustachius had dissected with the greatest care and diligence, and taken the utmost pains to give just views of the shape, size, and relative position of the organs of the human body. The fact that his book became a bestseller more than a century after his death shows the extent of the religious restrictions on anatomists all through the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
The first seven plates illustrate the history of the kidneys and some of the facts relating to the structure of the ear. The eighth represents the heart, the ramifications of the vena azygos, and the valve of the vena cava, named from the author. In the seven subsequent plates is given a succession of different views of the viscera of the chest and abdomen. The seventeenth contains the brain and spinal cord; and the eighteenth more accurate views of the origin, course, and distribution of the nerves than had been given before. Fourteen plates are devoted to the muscles.
Eustachius did not confine his researches to the study of relative anatomy. He investigated the intimate structure of organs with assiduity and success. What was too minute for unassisted vision he inspected by means of glasses (early microscopes). Structure that could not be understood in the recent state he unfolded by maceration in different fluids, or rendered more distinct by injection and exsiccation. The facts illustrated by these figures are so important that it has been said that, if the author had been fortunate enough to publish them, anatomy would have attained the perfection of the 18th century at least two centuries earlier. Their seclusion for that period in the papal library has given celebrity to many names that would have been known only in the verification of the discoveries of Eustachius.
External links
- Bartholomeo Eustachi: Tabulae anatomicae. (Rome, 1783). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.