Gabriele Falloppio

Gabriele Fallopio
Gabriele Falloppio
Born	1523 Modena
Died	October 9, 1562 Padua
Nationality	Italian
Fields	Anatomy Medicine
Institutions	University of Pisa University of Padua
Alma mater	Ferrara
Doctoral advisor	Antonio Musa Brassavola
Doctoral students	Girolamo Fabrici Volcher Coiter
Known for	Medicine

Gabriele Falloppio (1523 – October 9, 1562), often known by his Latin name Fallopius, was one of the most important anatomists and physicians of the sixteenth century.

He was born at Modena and died at Padua. His family was noble but very poor and it was only by a hard struggle he succeeded in obtaining an education. Financial difficulties led him to join the clergy, and in 1542, he became a canon at Modena's cathedral. He studied medicine at the University of Ferrara, at that time one of the best medical schools in Europe. He received his MD in 1548 under the guidance of Antonio Musa Brassavola. After taking his degree he worked at various medical schools and then became professor of anatomy at Ferrara, in 1548. Girolamo Fabrici was one of his famous students. He was called the next year to the University of Pisa, then the most important university in Italy. In 1551 Falloppio was invited by Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to occupy the chair of anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. He also held the professorship of botany and was superintendent of the botanical gardens. Though he died when less than forty, he had made his mark on anatomy for all time.

Falloppio's own work dealt mainly with the anatomy of the head. He added much to what was known before about the internal ear and described in detail the tympanum and its relations to the osseous ring in which it is situated. He also described minutely the circular and oval windows (fenestræ) and their communication with the vestibule and cochlea. He was the first to point out the connection between the mastoid cells and the middle ear. His description of the lacrimal ducts in the eye was a marked advance on those of his predecessors and he also gave a detailed account of the ethmoid bone and its cells in the nose. His contributions to the anatomy of the bones and muscles were very valuable. It was in myology particularly that he corrected Vesalius. He studied the reproductive organs in both sexes, and described the Fallopian tube, which leads from the ovary to the uterus and now bears his name.