Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654–1720) and the modern cardiovascular physiology

Abstract

Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654–1720) was one of the most important Italian physicians of the modern age. Orphaned of his mother, he spent his early years in the city of Orvieto; when he was 12, his father brought him back to Rome and enrolled him to study medicine at the Sapienza University in Rome. His dedication to study and work soon led him to increasingly important positions. Within a few years, the fame of Lancisi became such that he was appointed the personal physician of three popes. In De Subitaneis Mortibus (1707), he described the pathophysiology of heart diseases, identifying the cause of sudden deaths in structural anomalies of the heart, lungs, and brain. He also wrote about cerebral localizations and first discussed the physiological mechanisms of urine formation and excretion. In 1717, Lancisi described the pathogenesis of malaria and the close correlation between its onset and the swampy waters of the Tiber River, proposing the draining of marshes to eradicate malaria. In the posthumous De Motu Cordis et Aneurysmatibus (1728) he described for the first time heart dilatation and aneurysms of the great vessels, providing a fundamental contribution to the history of cardiovascular physiology. Proof of his interest in medical education is the establishment of an academy and the donation of a library to the hospital, bridging the gap between theory and practice in medical training. Over the centuries, Lancisi’s memory has faded, but his work is still relevant for anyone practicing the medical profession.