The first recorded use of microscopy in medicine: Pope Innocent XII's autopsy report

Riva, Michele Augusto; Borghi, Luca; Pagni, Fabio

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31210-7

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Unfortunately, details on the type of fracture of Innocent XII are not available-radiologic images were not achievable at that time and the pope's autopsy report at his death in 1700 did not provide information on this regard [6]-even though the fracture was likely undisplaced. Nowadays, modern orthopaedics would use opiates and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) rather than infusions of wine and herbs for pain management.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of hip fracture of Pope Innocent XII by Marcello Malpighi with bed rest

Bigoni

Zatti

Zanchi

et al. 2017

International Orthopaedics (SICOT)

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Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), who is referred to as the father of microscopical anatomy, histology, physiology and embryology was an Italian biologist and physician, well known for his discoveries on microscopical anatomy of kidney, circulating and lymphatic systems. As well as being a brilliant anatomist, Malpighi was also a valued physician so far as to became the personal physician of Pope Innocent XII (1615-1700). On 23 August 1691, one month after his election, the Pope fell to the ground hitting his left hip. Malpighi, as his personal physician, was immediately called and diagnosed a hip fracture. At that time fractures were generally treated by surgeons, barbers and sawbones, while physicians were mainly concerned with internal diseases. Despite that, Marcello Malpighi cured Pope Innocent XII's hip fracture by applying some modern traumatologic concepts. This article analyses how Malpighi treated this hip fracture, comparing it with the current approach.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of hip fracture of Pope Innocent XII by Marcello Malpighi with bed rest

Bigoni

Zatti

Zanchi

et al. 2017

International Orthopaedics (SICOT)

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“…No scientific study has investigated and analysed the circumstances of this death although the practice of autopsy of the Pope's corpse is known from the 16 th century (Visceglia 2013), often due to political reasons (Andretta 2011). These autopsy reports are only rarely analysed (Piccinini 1995;Riva et al 2016), and never with the aim of investigating the real causes of the death from a concomitant medical and historical point of view. Here, for the first time, we report on the discovery of new unpublished documents and their investigation with a scientific and inter-disciplinary approach, which allows us to draw new conclusions on the causes of Leo XII's death.…”

Section: P R E P U B -A R T I C L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Pope Leo XII’s death: the twist to a longstanding dispute by novel historical documents and paleopathographic analysis

Sermattei

Traversari

Serventi

et al. 2019

homo

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Although the practice of autopsy on the Pope's corpse was performed from the 16 th century, autopsy reports are only rarely analysed, and never with the aim of investigating the real causes of the death from a concomitant medical and historical point of view. Here, for the first time, we report on the discovery of new unpublished documents from the Vatican Secret Archives and their investigation by a scientific and inter-disciplinary approach. This analysis allows us to draw new conclusions on the true cause of Leo XII's mysterious death. His sudden death, that occurred on February 10 th , 1829 after a short illness, particularly struck the public. Suspicions of poisoning or surgeon's guilt or inexperience and even the shadow of a venereal disease, contributed to create a "black legend" on his pontificate and death. On the contrary, the present paleopathographic analysis points toward a new conclusion. The regular use of catheterization with a silver syringe provided an easy access for bacterial superinfection, confirmed by the observed early emphysematous stage of the corpse. So, the most substantiated hypothesis concerning the cause of Leo XII's death indicates a severe form of sepsis, exacerbated by a weakened state due to chronic hemorrhoids.

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“…There are several documented cases of investigating pathologically changed tissues with the use of a microscope, e.g. the analysis of samples taken during the autopsy of pope Innocent XII performed in 1700 [17].…”

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confidence: 99%

From magnifying glass to operative microscopy – the historical and modern role of the microscope in microsurgery

Liczbik¹,

Goertz²,

Wiśniewski³

et al. 2019

pjp

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The modern computer-assisted microscope, being a hallmark of microsurgery, has become a standard piece of equipment in the operating theatre. Its introduction enabled visualisation of fine anatomical structures, obscure to the unaided eye, and revolutionised many surgical specialties, such as neurological, ophthalmological, or vascular. These astounding achievements have been the culmination of a century of constant progress in optical engineering and microsurgery, since 1921, when a microscope was first used during surgery. Long before surgery, pathology adopted microscopes, and they have become its most prominent diagnostic tools. We traced the evolution of this important invention and discussed its present status and future prospects.

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The first recorded use of microscopy in medicine: Pope Innocent XII's autopsy report

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Treatment of hip fracture of Pope Innocent XII by Marcello Malpighi with bed rest

Treatment of hip fracture of Pope Innocent XII by Marcello Malpighi with bed rest

Pope Leo XII’s death: the twist to a longstanding dispute by novel historical documents and paleopathographic analysis

From magnifying glass to operative microscopy – the historical and modern role of the microscope in microsurgery

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