Realdo colombo biography samples

Ever wondered where the placenta got its name?

In Italy in the 1500s, the anatomist Matteo Realdo Colombo coined this term to describe the large fleshy organ of pregnancy. Colombo chose placenta because it resembled another big, round object seen in daily life: a cake.

In the pre-modern world, there existed a variety of words and concepts used to understand the placenta.

In my research, I try to uncover the cultural significance of the placenta and afterbirth in pre-modern Europe (1500–1800) to help us better understand the social and medical history of this important organ.

Afterbirths and secundines

Before the anatomical term placenta appeared, men and women in medieval Europe used the terms "afterbirth" (nachgeburt in German, arrière-faix in French) and "the second" (secundina in Italian, secondine in English).

These terms captured the fact that placental expulsion was the "second" part of a childbirth, necessary to end the birth.

From the medieval to late early modern period, childbirth was very much the preserve of women midwives, family members and neighbours. Much of their knowledge about the placenta was transmitted orally (women were generally not literate, unless elite) yet some of this knowledge survives in texts.

Male physicians recorded women's knowledge about childbirth to demonstrate they could access "secret" knowledge about women's bodies. This boosted their reputation among other male physicians, and gave credibility to their expertise over women's health and childbirth.

One example of this is the 12th-century medical compendium, The Trotula, one of the most influential works on women's medicine in Europe from its publication until well into the 1500s.

The text, a compilation of different medical treatises, was supposedly authored by the first female physician and

Archives of the Balkan Medical Union Copyright © 2018 Balkan Medical Union vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 126-128 March 2018 MINIREVIEW THE ITALIAN ANATOMIST REALDO COLOMBO (1516-1559) AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE DISCOVERY OF PULMONARY CIRCULATION Konstantinos Markatos1, Marianna Karamanou1, Gregory Tsoucalas2, Konstantinos Laios1, George Androutsos3 History of Medicine, Medical School, University of Crete, Crete, Greece History of Medicine, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece 3 Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece 1 2 ABSTRACT RÉSUMÉ In our article we present the anatomical work of the distinguished Renaissance anatomist Realdo Colombo, as well as, his contribution to the discovery of pulmonary circulation. Colombo was not the first to describe the pulmonary circulation, but he backed up this hypothesis with evidence after extensive dissection and vivisection. He paved the way for his successors and particularly William Harvey (1578-1657) to the establishment of anatomy and physiology of blood circulation. L’anatomiste Italien Realdo Colombo (1516-1559) et sa contribution à la découverte de la circulation pulmonaire Key words: history of cardiology, pulmonary circulation, Colombo, anatomy. Dans notre article, on présente l’œuvre de l’éminent anatomiste de la Renaissance Realdo Colombo, ainsi que sa contribution à la découverte de la circulation pulmonaire. Colombo n’était pas le premier à décrire la circulation pulmonaire, mais il a soutenu cette hypothèse après avoir fait des dissections extensives et des vivisections. Il a ouvert la voie à ses successeurs et en particulier à William Harvey (1578-1657) pour la création de l’anatomie et de la physiologie de la circulation sanguine Mots-clés: histoire de la cardiologie, circulation pulmonaire, Colombo, anatomie. Realdo Colombo was born in Cremona,

Italian anatomy professor and surgery

Matteo Realdo Colombo (c. 1515 – 1559) was an Italian professor of anatomy and a surgeon at the University of Padua between 1544 and 1559.

Early life and education

Matteo Realdo Colombo or Realdus Columbus, was born in Cremona, Lombardy, the son of an apothecary named Antonio Colombo. Although little is known about his early life, it is known he took his undergraduate education in Milan, where he studied philosophy, and he appears to have pursued his father's profession for a short while afterwards. He left the apothecary's life and apprenticed to the surgeon Giovanni Antonio Lonigo, under whom he studied for 7 years. In 1538 he enrolled in the University of Padua where he was noted to be an exceptional student of anatomy. While still a student, he was awarded a Chair of Sophistics at the university. In 1542 he returned briefly to Venice to assist his mentor, Lonigo.

Academic career

Realdo Colombo studied philosophy in Milan, and then he trained to be a surgeon for several years under a Venetian named Giovanni Antonio Plato, also known as Lonigo or Leonicus. By 1538, during the years of Andreas Vesalius, Columbo had arrived at Padua where he studied medicine, anatomy, and he lectured to arts students on sophistics, or logic. Columbo became a close friend of Vesalius and possibly assisted him at a dissection. Vesalius was away in Basel when Columbo was temporarily appointed to teach in his place, and eventually, Colombo received this position more permanently.

In 1544, Colombo went to the University of Pisa and performed many dissections; he was referred to “As Master of Anatomy and Surgery.” Then in 1548, Columbo went to Rome where he taught anatomy at the papal university for about ten years until his death in 1559. While Colombo was in Rome, he took on a project with Michelangelo and became his personal physician and friend. He intended to collaborate with Michelangelo on an i