science · 05 December 1771 · 253 years ago
death
Died 5 Dec 1771 at age 89 (born 25 Feb 1682).
Italian anatomist and pathologist whose works helped make anatomy an exact science. His early studies of particularly the throat, and the sinus and hydatid of Morgagni in this region perpetuate his name. Morgagni wrote his major work De sedibus et causis morborum per anatomen indigatis ("On the Seats and Causes of Disease," Venice, 1771, trans. French, English, and German) which laid the foundation of modern pathology. He thought tuberculosis contagious and refused to make autopsies on tuberculous subjects; his teaching led to laws requiring upon the death of tuberculosis patients that their rooms be disinfected and their clothing burned. For cancer, Morgagni insisted that the knife was the only remedy that gave fruitful results.
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