The life and clinical contributions of Italian anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666–1723)

Abstract

Fig. 1) [1]. Pompeo Pini, a jeweler, was his father, and Catarina Tosi was his mother [2]. The name Valsalva, on the other hand, originated from the place where his grandfather's family home was located. Valvalsa grew up in an upper-middle class family. At the age of 43, he married Elena Lisi, the 17-year-old daughter of a noble Bologna senator. They had six children, half of whom died in childhood. Valsalva died of apoplexy in Bologna on February 2, 1723, at the age of 57 [3].As a child, he was sent to a Jesuite school to study the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences [1,3]. Interested in anatomy and physiology, Valsalva continued his education at the University of Bologna and graduated at the age of 21 [2]. At this University, he was a student of Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), known as the discoverer of microscopic anatomy [1]. By the time he graduated, a plague epidemic in Bologna spread throughout the city. Therefore, as soon as he graduated, he was appointed as an inspector of public health services in Bologna. While performing this duty, he treated many important people, including the governor of the city, with his clever clinical judgment [1,3]. Afterwards, the academic community appreciated his achievements and declared him Professor of Anatomy, and he became * Gkionoul Nteli Chatzioglou