Eustachius
Bartolomeo Eustachi was one of most important anatomists of the sixteenth century. He is more commonly referred to by his Latin name, Eustachius.
He was born in San Severino, in Italy, around 1510. He was a contemporary of Vesalius, with whom he shares the reputation of having created the science of human anatomy.
His father, Mariano, was a physician, and he gave his son a classical education. He studied Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic. He studied Medicine in Rome and began his practice around 1540. He became a professor of anatomy at the Archiginnasio della Sapienza, in Rome and, because of his position, he was able to obtain human cadavers for dissection.
Religious reverence for the body made the Roman Catholic Church prohibit the dissection of human corpses for many centuries. Following the Black Death Plague, however, the Popes wanted to know the cause of the disease and permitted postmortem examinations of plague victims. But it was almost 200 years later that Pope Clement VII, in 1537, allowed human dissections in anatomy classes. It is interesting to note that the Black Death Plague started in Europe in 1348.
In 1552 Eustachius and an artist friend, Pier Matteo Pini, developed a series of 47 copper engraved plates, illustrating Eustachius's dissections. Only eight of these plates, however, were published during his lifetime. The other 39 were found only in the 18th century and published in 1714. The reason that they remained unpublished is that Eustachius feared ex-communication by the Catholic Church. If these engravements had been published with the first eight, Eustachius would have been as famous as Vesalius and anatomy would have attained the perfection of the 18th century 200 years earlier. 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.
In the early 1560s, Eustachius published works on the human kidney, the organs associated with hearing, and human teeth. His book De Renum Structura was the first dedicated to the kidney. He also published a book about the teeth – De Dentibus – describing the number of teeth in babies and adults and their inner parts and hard external structure.
He extended the knowledge of the inner ear by describing de cochlea. He also described correctly the Eustachian tube. He also described the muscles of the malleus and the stapes. He also discovered the adrenal glands. Apart from his anatomical research, he also investigated the structure of the organs, sometimes making use of magnifying glasses.
Eustachius died in Rome on August 27, 1574.
He was born in San Severino, in Italy, around 1510. He was a contemporary of Vesalius, with whom he shares the reputation of having created the science of human anatomy.
His father, Mariano, was a physician, and he gave his son a classical education. He studied Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic. He studied Medicine in Rome and began his practice around 1540. He became a professor of anatomy at the Archiginnasio della Sapienza, in Rome and, because of his position, he was able to obtain human cadavers for dissection.
Religious reverence for the body made the Roman Catholic Church prohibit the dissection of human corpses for many centuries. Following the Black Death Plague, however, the Popes wanted to know the cause of the disease and permitted postmortem examinations of plague victims. But it was almost 200 years later that Pope Clement VII, in 1537, allowed human dissections in anatomy classes. It is interesting to note that the Black Death Plague started in Europe in 1348.
In 1552 Eustachius and an artist friend, Pier Matteo Pini, developed a series of 47 copper engraved plates, illustrating Eustachius's dissections. Only eight of these plates, however, were published during his lifetime. The other 39 were found only in the 18th century and published in 1714. The reason that they remained unpublished is that Eustachius feared ex-communication by the Catholic Church. If these engravements had been published with the first eight, Eustachius would have been as famous as Vesalius and anatomy would have attained the perfection of the 18th century 200 years earlier. 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.
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| Bartholomeus Eustachius - Wikimedia Commons |
In the early 1560s, Eustachius published works on the human kidney, the organs associated with hearing, and human teeth. His book De Renum Structura was the first dedicated to the kidney. He also published a book about the teeth – De Dentibus – describing the number of teeth in babies and adults and their inner parts and hard external structure.
He extended the knowledge of the inner ear by describing de cochlea. He also described correctly the Eustachian tube. He also described the muscles of the malleus and the stapes. He also discovered the adrenal glands. Apart from his anatomical research, he also investigated the structure of the organs, sometimes making use of magnifying glasses.
Eustachius died in Rome on August 27, 1574.
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