Thomas Bartholin

Thomas Bartholin
Thomas Bartholin
Born	20 October 1616 Malmö, Scania then part of Denmark
Died	4 December 1680 (aged 64) Copenhagen
Nationality	Danish
Fields	medicine
Known for	lymphatic system

Thomas Bartholin (/bɑːrˈtoʊlɪn, ˈbɑːrtəlɪn/; Latinized: Thomas Bartholinus; 20 October 1616 – 4 December 1680) was a Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian. He is best known for his work in the discovery of the lymphatic system in humans and for his advancements of the theory of refrigeration anesthesia, being the first to describe it scientifically.

Thomas Bartholin came from a family that has become famous for its pioneering scientists, twelve of whom became professors at the University of Copenhagen. Three generations of the Bartholin family made significant contributions to anatomical science and medicine in the 17th and 18th centuries: Thomas Bartholin's father, Caspar Bartholin the Elder (1585–1629), his brother Rasmus Bartholin (1625–1698), and his son Caspar Bartholin the Younger (1655–1738). Thomas Bartholin's son Thomas Bartholin the Younger (1659–1690) became a professor of history at the University of Copenhagen and was later appointed royal antiquarian and secretary to the Royal Archives.

Thomas Bartholin was the second of the six sons of Caspar Bartholin the Elder, a physician born in Malmö, Scania and his spouse Anne Fincke. Bartholin the Elder published the first collected anatomical work in 1611. This work was later augmented, illustrated and revised by Thomas Bartholin, becoming the standard reference on anatomy; the son notably added updates on Harvey's theory of blood circulation and on the lymphatic system.