The article aims to shed light on some particular aspects of the activity and the scientific thou... more The article aims to shed light on some particular aspects of the activity and the scientific thought of Baccio Baldini, Director of the Laurentian Library and Court physician of the Medici family in Florence. The analysis of his work as a humanist and the recovery of some unpublished documents enable to define the figure of Baldini as a paradigmatic example of the court physicians of modern age in Italy, highlighting the complementarity between humanism and experimentalism in the Renaissance medicine.
Giornale italiano di medicina del lavoro ed ergonomia, Oct 1, 2010
Neo-hippocratism consists in a rational and mechanic method to explain pathological phenomena and... more Neo-hippocratism consists in a rational and mechanic method to explain pathological phenomena and discover the causes of diseases. Bernardino Ramazzini uses Hippocratic empirical observation to investigate the relations between the alterations of the air--due to mephitic vapours, of organic and inorganic origin--and the development of pathological processes. His notion of corruption of the atmosphere as the origin of epidemics and specific diseases, and that of prevention as the main strategy of modern medicine, is developed in medical literature and in the Public Medicine projects of the end of the Seventeenth century.
The article deals with the places of medical art in the antiquity. Author's intention is to give ... more The article deals with the places of medical art in the antiquity. Author's intention is to give a description of the places where developed the assistance and welfare activity to sick people from the Asklepieia to Monastic Hospitals. In Theurgical Medicine the cure for sickness was peculiar to gods, at first to all gods, mostly to Apollo and Artemide; later healing art had an own god: Asclepius. In the temples of Asclepius, the Asklepieia, prayers, sacrifices, offerings and magical rituals began to be associated with medical practical exercise and rational therapeutic systems. Rational Hippocratic Medicine found own places in the cities: the iatreia in Greece and the tabernae medicae in Rome. The article tries to describe the evolution of social welfare assistance from the Roman Valitudinaria to the monastic xenodochia and the first forms of Religious Hospitals.
The aim of the conference of which we are here publishing the proceedings, held in Rome at Sapien... more The aim of the conference of which we are here publishing the proceedings, held in Rome at Sapienza-University in 2013, was to valorise the specific museological heritage of Italian Universities, in relation to analogous European and non-European Museums of Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy. A particular attention has been devoted to highlight the history of the origins and evolution of specific museological collections in order to focus reasons and circumstances of their foundation through the analysis of the signifcances, finctions and uses of anatomical parts or artifacts in different cultural contexts.
... Marinozzi S. Section of History of Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine and Patholog... more ... Marinozzi S. Section of History of Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. silvia.marinozzi@uniroma1.it. PMID: 16101015 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Publication Types: Biography; Historical Article. ...
Mummies have always exerted a strong suggestion on mentality through centuries. They have been co... more Mummies have always exerted a strong suggestion on mentality through centuries. They have been considered magical objects, possessing mysterious powers and able to protect from dangers. Pieces or mummy were employed as amulets to preserve life. In the modern age physicians and apothecaries began to use it for therapeutical treatments. This article concerns the therapeutic employ and the different compositions and uses of mummial remedies from early modern age to XVIII century.
The first specific techniques and triages for medical resuscitation developed in the XVIII centur... more The first specific techniques and triages for medical resuscitation developed in the XVIII century, specifically to rescue the drowned persons. The topic of resuscitation in strictly connected to the theme of the apparent death, to the dread of the "buried alive", to the progress of forensic medicine and to the administrative and legislative policies. The contribute aims to focus on the contribution of the medical and pathologic nosology about the conception of the apparent death, read as asphyxia.
In the early 80's, a systematic investigation was started of the series of mummies from Central a... more In the early 80's, a systematic investigation was started of the series of mummies from Central and Southern Italy, in particular from important Renaissance depositions. Radiological exams were carried out on each individual, not only to determine the age at death of those subjects lacking any indication of age, but also to detect possible pathological findings. Furthermore, X-rays allow greater understanding of the techniques and the substances used for embalming, including the type of craniotomy, the partial or complete evisceration, and the identification of the embalming substances used to fill the body cavities. The great number of artificial mummies, examined by G. Fornaciari and his equipe, allowed the study of human embalming techniques, related to methods and procedures described by medical and non-medical authors in Early Modern age. The history of the art of mummification has been here reconstructed, from the 'clyster' techniques to the partial or total evisceration of the corpses, to the introvascular injection of drying and preserving liquors.
Consulti are one of the most interesting sources for reconstructing a true outline of the state o... more Consulti are one of the most interesting sources for reconstructing a true outline of the state of the medical art in the Early Modern period. They were epistulae--in Latin as well as in vernacular--sent to famous physicians to receive a more correct diagnosis, and better therapeutical prescriptions. They collect and illustrate case studies, therapeutical uses, as well as the patient's attitude towards disease. This article concerns five urological consulti by Marcello Malpighi.
A dressing was observed on the left arm of the mummy of Mary of Aragon (1503-1568), under her pre... more A dressing was observed on the left arm of the mummy of Mary of Aragon (1503-1568), under her precious Renaissance clothes. It consisted of a true medical bandage, covering a large syphilitic cutaneous ulcer, with a sulphur-embedded wad still in situ. The bandage has a very peculiar shape, rather different from the usual dressings described in the contemporary medical texts: a central rectangular pad, used as compressing appliance, is provided with a sort of pocket containing ivy leaves. The function of the dressing was not only to cover and protect the ulcer, but also to apply a plant drug. This is the first case of ancient medical bandage studied directly on a mummified body.
Aim: The article provides an overview on the beginning and evolutions of medical observations on ... more Aim: The article provides an overview on the beginning and evolutions of medical observations on tobacco induced diseases between Eighteenth and Nineteenth century. Methods: By searching for historical medical literature, first studies on tobacco-induced diseases focused on production risks rather than on adverse effects that the use of tobacco has for the human health. Results: The approach induced first eighteenth-century authors to define this substance as a non-pathogenic and, consequently, not to consider tobacco factories dangerous for health workers. In those years, tobacco was employed in therapy as a stimulant treatment and it was considered harmless and even healthy and preventive of several acute diseases. Conclusions: Authors will show that studies on pathogenic effects of smoking will only start around late nineteenth century, when the idea of the healthiness of tobacco industry was already supported.
Ancient medical and philosophical sources do not discuss the etiology of lovesickness, simply cat... more Ancient medical and philosophical sources do not discuss the etiology of lovesickness, simply cataloguing its symptoms. The 'informal' connection between black bile and lovesickness turns, in later texts, into a disease in whick black bile overheats, changing its nature (in CH it is a cold and dry element), burning and producing smoke. The article analyze this 'ontological' changement; the Pseudoaristotelian Problema XXX can help in reconstructing the sense of the mythological stories of Pasiphae, Medea, Ariadne and Phaedra, women bound by a close family relationship.
The paper deals first with the use of human blood as a means of therapeutic treatment in the Anti... more The paper deals first with the use of human blood as a means of therapeutic treatment in the Antiquity and in the Early Modern age, especially focusing on blood therapy in Paracelsian and iatrochemical practice. It deals then with the origins of the chirurgia infusoria--the injection of substances in the patient's veins--in Europe in the 17th century, examining the Italian contribution to the development of the technique and its role in Giorgio Baglivi's medical research.
At the origins of the bacteriological debate, many paths cross medical and veterinary history all... more At the origins of the bacteriological debate, many paths cross medical and veterinary history all over Europe. Reading the Annali Universali di Medicina, an Italian Journal published in Milan between 1817 and 1888, allow us to underline the perceived social role of Hygiene, the newborn medical specialty interpreting epidemics and zoonosis as consequences of wrongful economical, social and health politicies. In the issues of Annali printed just before the unity of Italy, anthrax can be assumed as a paradigmatic model to reconstruct the scientific and medical debate about aethiopathogenesis of infectious diseases crossing the nineteenth century; its reflections in the printed journals and magazines pages (we particularly refer to) provides interesting informations about the public perception of medical theories concernig the concept of contagion, the idea that infectious diseases can derive from a bodily poisoning, the theory of ‘poisonous fields’, according to which animals can contract anthrax by simply herding in high nitrogen content soils. Key words: Anthrax - Unification of Italy - Annali Universali di Medicina
The article concerns the history of the Roman University Botanical Gardens, since the origin to t... more The article concerns the history of the Roman University Botanical Gardens, since the origin to the death of Giovanni Battista Triumfetti, by the examination of documents of the Record Office of Rome. In particular it treats the cultural and scientific activity of G. B. Triumfetti as Director of the Botanical Gardens, and the consequent renaissance and development of Botany in Rome in the end of the XVIII century, by the analysis of the Herbarium of Erasmus Abundantia of 1700. Key words: Giovan Battista Triumfetti - Roman University Botanical Gardens - Botany in Rome
The article aims to shed light on some particular aspects of the activity and the scientific thou... more The article aims to shed light on some particular aspects of the activity and the scientific thought of Baccio Baldini, Director of the Laurentian Library and Court physician of the Medici family in Florence. The analysis of his work as a humanist and the recovery of some unpublished documents enable to define the figure of Baldini as a paradigmatic example of the court physicians of modern age in Italy, highlighting the complementarity between humanism and experimentalism in the Renaissance medicine.
Giornale italiano di medicina del lavoro ed ergonomia, Oct 1, 2010
Neo-hippocratism consists in a rational and mechanic method to explain pathological phenomena and... more Neo-hippocratism consists in a rational and mechanic method to explain pathological phenomena and discover the causes of diseases. Bernardino Ramazzini uses Hippocratic empirical observation to investigate the relations between the alterations of the air--due to mephitic vapours, of organic and inorganic origin--and the development of pathological processes. His notion of corruption of the atmosphere as the origin of epidemics and specific diseases, and that of prevention as the main strategy of modern medicine, is developed in medical literature and in the Public Medicine projects of the end of the Seventeenth century.
The article deals with the places of medical art in the antiquity. Author's intention is to give ... more The article deals with the places of medical art in the antiquity. Author's intention is to give a description of the places where developed the assistance and welfare activity to sick people from the Asklepieia to Monastic Hospitals. In Theurgical Medicine the cure for sickness was peculiar to gods, at first to all gods, mostly to Apollo and Artemide; later healing art had an own god: Asclepius. In the temples of Asclepius, the Asklepieia, prayers, sacrifices, offerings and magical rituals began to be associated with medical practical exercise and rational therapeutic systems. Rational Hippocratic Medicine found own places in the cities: the iatreia in Greece and the tabernae medicae in Rome. The article tries to describe the evolution of social welfare assistance from the Roman Valitudinaria to the monastic xenodochia and the first forms of Religious Hospitals.
The aim of the conference of which we are here publishing the proceedings, held in Rome at Sapien... more The aim of the conference of which we are here publishing the proceedings, held in Rome at Sapienza-University in 2013, was to valorise the specific museological heritage of Italian Universities, in relation to analogous European and non-European Museums of Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy. A particular attention has been devoted to highlight the history of the origins and evolution of specific museological collections in order to focus reasons and circumstances of their foundation through the analysis of the signifcances, finctions and uses of anatomical parts or artifacts in different cultural contexts.
... Marinozzi S. Section of History of Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine and Patholog... more ... Marinozzi S. Section of History of Medicine, Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. silvia.marinozzi@uniroma1.it. PMID: 16101015 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Publication Types: Biography; Historical Article. ...
Mummies have always exerted a strong suggestion on mentality through centuries. They have been co... more Mummies have always exerted a strong suggestion on mentality through centuries. They have been considered magical objects, possessing mysterious powers and able to protect from dangers. Pieces or mummy were employed as amulets to preserve life. In the modern age physicians and apothecaries began to use it for therapeutical treatments. This article concerns the therapeutic employ and the different compositions and uses of mummial remedies from early modern age to XVIII century.
The first specific techniques and triages for medical resuscitation developed in the XVIII centur... more The first specific techniques and triages for medical resuscitation developed in the XVIII century, specifically to rescue the drowned persons. The topic of resuscitation in strictly connected to the theme of the apparent death, to the dread of the "buried alive", to the progress of forensic medicine and to the administrative and legislative policies. The contribute aims to focus on the contribution of the medical and pathologic nosology about the conception of the apparent death, read as asphyxia.
In the early 80's, a systematic investigation was started of the series of mummies from Central a... more In the early 80's, a systematic investigation was started of the series of mummies from Central and Southern Italy, in particular from important Renaissance depositions. Radiological exams were carried out on each individual, not only to determine the age at death of those subjects lacking any indication of age, but also to detect possible pathological findings. Furthermore, X-rays allow greater understanding of the techniques and the substances used for embalming, including the type of craniotomy, the partial or complete evisceration, and the identification of the embalming substances used to fill the body cavities. The great number of artificial mummies, examined by G. Fornaciari and his equipe, allowed the study of human embalming techniques, related to methods and procedures described by medical and non-medical authors in Early Modern age. The history of the art of mummification has been here reconstructed, from the 'clyster' techniques to the partial or total evisceration of the corpses, to the introvascular injection of drying and preserving liquors.
Consulti are one of the most interesting sources for reconstructing a true outline of the state o... more Consulti are one of the most interesting sources for reconstructing a true outline of the state of the medical art in the Early Modern period. They were epistulae--in Latin as well as in vernacular--sent to famous physicians to receive a more correct diagnosis, and better therapeutical prescriptions. They collect and illustrate case studies, therapeutical uses, as well as the patient's attitude towards disease. This article concerns five urological consulti by Marcello Malpighi.
A dressing was observed on the left arm of the mummy of Mary of Aragon (1503-1568), under her pre... more A dressing was observed on the left arm of the mummy of Mary of Aragon (1503-1568), under her precious Renaissance clothes. It consisted of a true medical bandage, covering a large syphilitic cutaneous ulcer, with a sulphur-embedded wad still in situ. The bandage has a very peculiar shape, rather different from the usual dressings described in the contemporary medical texts: a central rectangular pad, used as compressing appliance, is provided with a sort of pocket containing ivy leaves. The function of the dressing was not only to cover and protect the ulcer, but also to apply a plant drug. This is the first case of ancient medical bandage studied directly on a mummified body.
Aim: The article provides an overview on the beginning and evolutions of medical observations on ... more Aim: The article provides an overview on the beginning and evolutions of medical observations on tobacco induced diseases between Eighteenth and Nineteenth century. Methods: By searching for historical medical literature, first studies on tobacco-induced diseases focused on production risks rather than on adverse effects that the use of tobacco has for the human health. Results: The approach induced first eighteenth-century authors to define this substance as a non-pathogenic and, consequently, not to consider tobacco factories dangerous for health workers. In those years, tobacco was employed in therapy as a stimulant treatment and it was considered harmless and even healthy and preventive of several acute diseases. Conclusions: Authors will show that studies on pathogenic effects of smoking will only start around late nineteenth century, when the idea of the healthiness of tobacco industry was already supported.
Ancient medical and philosophical sources do not discuss the etiology of lovesickness, simply cat... more Ancient medical and philosophical sources do not discuss the etiology of lovesickness, simply cataloguing its symptoms. The 'informal' connection between black bile and lovesickness turns, in later texts, into a disease in whick black bile overheats, changing its nature (in CH it is a cold and dry element), burning and producing smoke. The article analyze this 'ontological' changement; the Pseudoaristotelian Problema XXX can help in reconstructing the sense of the mythological stories of Pasiphae, Medea, Ariadne and Phaedra, women bound by a close family relationship.
The paper deals first with the use of human blood as a means of therapeutic treatment in the Anti... more The paper deals first with the use of human blood as a means of therapeutic treatment in the Antiquity and in the Early Modern age, especially focusing on blood therapy in Paracelsian and iatrochemical practice. It deals then with the origins of the chirurgia infusoria--the injection of substances in the patient's veins--in Europe in the 17th century, examining the Italian contribution to the development of the technique and its role in Giorgio Baglivi's medical research.
At the origins of the bacteriological debate, many paths cross medical and veterinary history all... more At the origins of the bacteriological debate, many paths cross medical and veterinary history all over Europe. Reading the Annali Universali di Medicina, an Italian Journal published in Milan between 1817 and 1888, allow us to underline the perceived social role of Hygiene, the newborn medical specialty interpreting epidemics and zoonosis as consequences of wrongful economical, social and health politicies. In the issues of Annali printed just before the unity of Italy, anthrax can be assumed as a paradigmatic model to reconstruct the scientific and medical debate about aethiopathogenesis of infectious diseases crossing the nineteenth century; its reflections in the printed journals and magazines pages (we particularly refer to) provides interesting informations about the public perception of medical theories concernig the concept of contagion, the idea that infectious diseases can derive from a bodily poisoning, the theory of ‘poisonous fields’, according to which animals can contract anthrax by simply herding in high nitrogen content soils. Key words: Anthrax - Unification of Italy - Annali Universali di Medicina
The article concerns the history of the Roman University Botanical Gardens, since the origin to t... more The article concerns the history of the Roman University Botanical Gardens, since the origin to the death of Giovanni Battista Triumfetti, by the examination of documents of the Record Office of Rome. In particular it treats the cultural and scientific activity of G. B. Triumfetti as Director of the Botanical Gardens, and the consequent renaissance and development of Botany in Rome in the end of the XVIII century, by the analysis of the Herbarium of Erasmus Abundantia of 1700. Key words: Giovan Battista Triumfetti - Roman University Botanical Gardens - Botany in Rome
Nel corso dello scavo di Casal Bertone, che ha restituito oltre 200 sepolture è stato rinvenuto u... more Nel corso dello scavo di Casal Bertone, che ha restituito oltre 200 sepolture è stato rinvenuto un individuo con evidenti alterazioni dei piedi. Le ossa tarsali risultavano fuse, i metatarsali avevano epifisi sfrangiate e cavità pseudocistiche e la tuberosità del calcagno destro era attraversata da un foro di dubbia eziologia. L’ individuo, d’età alla morte compresa tra 50 e 60 anni, di sesso femminile, è di corporatura gracile con una statura pari a 147 cm ca. Al fine di comprendere la patologia che aveva colpito l’individuo e la natura del foro del calcagno, gli elementi dei piedi sono stati sottoposti ad indagine tramite tomografia assiale computerizzata (TAC). Dalle immagini ottenute si osserva che la zona adiacente al foro presenta una radiopacità molto elevata dovuta alla calcificazione dell’osso; tale dettaglio suggerisce che il foro sia stato praticato in vita. L’ipotesi di un possibile intervento chirurgico potrebbe essere avvalorata dal rinvenimento di tracce d’argento all’interno del foro. Le fonti storiche riportano che alcuni strumenti chirurgici e contenitori utilizzati per miscelare i farmaci potevano esserne rivestiti; inoltre in età imperiale è attestato l’utilizzo dell’argento nelle ricette, come componente di farmaci e impiastri per il trattamento di alcune patologie.
ENGLISH
During the excavation of Casal Bertone, which returned over 200 burials, an individual was found with evident alterations of the feet. The tarsal bones were fused, the metatarsals had fringed epiphysis and pseudocyst cavities and the tuberosity of the right calcane was crossed by a hole of dubious etiology. The individual, aged between 50 and 60 years old, of a female gender, is of a gracile body with a height of about 147 cm. In order to understand the pathology that had affected the individual and the nature of the heel hole, the elements of the feet were subjected to investigation by computerized axial tomography (CAT). From the images obtained it is observed that the area adjacent to the hole has a very high radiopacity due to calcification of the bone; this detail suggests that the hole was practiced in life. The hypothesis of a possible surgical operation could be confirmed by the discovery of traces of silver inside the hole. Historical sources report that some surgical instruments and containers used to mix drugs could be coated; also in the imperial age the use of silver in the recipes is attested, as a component of drugs and poultices for the treatment of some pathologies.
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ENGLISH
During the excavation of Casal Bertone, which returned over 200 burials, an individual was found with evident alterations of the feet. The tarsal bones were fused, the metatarsals had fringed epiphysis and pseudocyst cavities and the tuberosity of the right calcane was crossed by a hole of dubious etiology. The individual, aged between 50 and 60 years old, of a female gender, is of a gracile body with a height of about 147 cm. In order to understand the pathology that had affected the individual and the nature of the heel hole, the elements of the feet were subjected to investigation by computerized axial tomography (CAT). From the images obtained it is observed that the area adjacent to the hole has a very high radiopacity due to calcification of the bone; this detail suggests that the hole was practiced in life. The hypothesis of a possible surgical operation could be confirmed by the discovery of traces of silver inside the hole. Historical sources report that some surgical instruments and containers used to mix drugs could be coated; also in the imperial age the use of silver in the recipes is attested, as a component of drugs and poultices for the treatment of some pathologies.