Antonio Maria Valsalva
| Antonio Maria Valsalva | |
|---|---|
Antonio Maria Valsalva
|
|
| Born |
17 January 1666 Imola |
| Died | 2 February 1723 (aged 57) Bologna |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Fields | Anatomist |
| Academic advisors | Marcello Malpighi |
| Notable students | Giovanni Battista Morgagni |
| Known for | Valsalva maneuver |
Antonio Maria Valsalva (17 January 1666 – 2 February 1723), was an Italian anatomist born in Imola. His research focused on the anatomy of the ears. He coined the term Eustachian tube and he described the aortic sinuses of Valsalva in his writings, published posthumously in 1740. His name is associated with the Valsalva antrum of the ear and the Valsalva maneuver, which is used as a test of circulatory function. Anatomical structures bearing his name are Valsalva’s muscle and taeniae Valsalvae.
Valsalva was born at Imola. The contemporary of Isaac Newton and Johann Sebastian Bach, he was educated in the humanities, mathematics, and natural sciences. After studies of the liberal arts, he studied medicine and philosophy in Bologna. He was taught by Marcello Malpighi, who is known as the founder of microscopic anatomy. Valsalva graduated from the medical school in 1687. In 1705, he was appointed professor of anatomy at Bologna. He was later chosen as president of the Academy of the Sciences. Valsalva taught Giovanni Battista Morgagni who edited Valsalva’s complete writings and published a biography on Valsalva, both in 1740.
In 1709, Valsalva married Elena Lisi. As he lost his health, he lost his sense of smell, but he recognized the prodromal symptoms, in the form of dyslalia, of the disease that would eventually cause his death from stroke at Bologna in 1723.
Valsalva was buried in the church of San Giovanni in Monte, Bologna. The Valsalva family donated a collection of dried anatomical specimens to be used for educational purposes to the Institute of Sciences founded in 1711. The wear of this material that followed possibly inspired the work of the Bolognese school of wax modeling and the artists Ercole Lelli and Giovanni and Anna Morandi Manzolini. This new anatomic collection includes models of the heart and lungs and is today presented at the Museum of Anatomy.
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