Bartolomeo Panizza (August 17, 1785 – April 17, 1867) was an Italian

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

born in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

. He received a medical degree in surgery from

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, and furthered his studies at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

. In 1809 he became a professor at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

, and in 1835 a member of the ''Academia nazionale delle scienze'' (National Academy of Science). Panizza was a student and associate to famed anatomist

Antonio Scarpa Antonio Scarpa (9 May 1752 – 31 October 1832) was an Italian anatomist and professor. Biography Scarpa was born to an impoverished family in the frazione of Lorenzaga, Motta di Livenza, Veneto. An uncle, who was a member of the priesthood, gav ...

(1752-1832). He was the first physician to attribute the

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

function to the

posterior cortex Posterior cortex usually means the posterior (back) part of the complete cerebral cortex and includes the occipital, parietal, and temporal cortices. In other words, the posterior cortex includes all the cerebral cortex without the frontal cortex ...

. He published his findings in an 1855 treatise titled "''Osservazioni sul nervo ottico''" (Observations on the Optic Nerve). At the time, his discovery was largely ignored, and it would be several years until the importance of Panizza's findings were realized. In 1833 he described the "

foramen of Panizza The foramen of Panizza (named for anatomist Bartolomeo Panizza) is a hole that connects the left and right aorta as they leave the heart of all animals of the order Crocodilia. Crocodilians have a completely separated ventricle with deoxygenated b ...

", defined as a hole with a valve that connects the left and right

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...

in the crocodilian heart. He is also remembered for studies involving the lymphatic system of reptiles. The eponymous "Panizza's plexuses" are defined as two

plexus In neuroanatomy, a plexus (from the Latin term for "braid") is a branching network of vessels or nerves. The vessels may be blood vessels (veins, capillaries) or lymphatic vessels. The nerves are typically axons outside the central nervous syste ...

es of lymph vessels located in the lateral fossae of the

frenulum A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the h ...

of the prepuce. Panizza died in 1867 in Pavia.

Panizza's landmarks in Pavia

some landmarks stand as Panizza's memory. *A marble statue, in a yard ("Cortile delle Statue") of the old buildings of the

, at N.65 of the central "Strada Nuova". On the basement, there is the following inscription in Italian language: "A BARTOLOMEO PANIZZA / I DISCEPOLI E GLI AMMIRATORI / A. MDCCCLXXIII" (To Bartolomeo Panizza / The disciples and the admirers / Year 1873). *Panizza's tomb in the Monumental Cemetery of Pavia (viale San Giovannino). Along the central lane, on the left, just between the tombs of two other important scientists,

Adelchi Negri Adelchi Negri (16 July 1876 – 19 February 1912) was an Italian pathologist and microbiologist born in Perugia. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Pavia, where he was a pupil of Camillo Golgi (1843–1926). After graduation ...

and

Camillo Golgi Camillo Golgi (; 7 July 184321 January 1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist known for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia (where he later spent most of his professional career) betwee ...

, the funereal monument has a pyramid shape quite sweetened by a marble cloth. Under the bronze medallion representing the scientist's profile, there is the following inscription in Italian language: "AL COMMENDATORE / BARTOLOMEO PANIZZA / PROFESSORE DI ANATOMIA SENATORE DEL REGNO / INSIGNE DI DOTTRINA / POPOLARMENTE AMATO / PER ANIMO INTEGRO SCHIETTO GENEROSO / VISSUTO 81 ANNI SINO A 17 APRILE 1867 / I FIGLI E LE FIGLIE / ONORATI DEL NOME GRATI DELL'AFFETTO / PREGANDO E LAGRIMANDO (POSERO?)". Image:Bartolomeo Panizza statue 1.JPG, the statue Image:Bartolomeo Panizza's tomb, Pavia, Italy 1.JPG, the tomb

Notes

This article incorporates translated text from an equivalent article at the

Italian Wikipedia The Italian Wikipedia ( it, Wikipedia in italiano) is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of , , it has articles and more than registered accounts. It is t ...

, whose sources includ
Panizza, Bartolomeo
Treccani.it

Panizza's landmarks in Pavia

Notes

Further reading