Pietro Marchetti or Marchettis (1589 – 16 April 1673) was an Italian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

and

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

. According to the British historian of medicine Edward Withington, Marchetti was one the most important Italian surgeons of the seventeenth century.

Biography

Pietro Marchetti was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal 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 scien ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, where he was born, and where he continued to teach from 1652 until 1669, when he was allowed to resign his chair to his son Antonio. In 1661, he also obtained the appointment to the first professorship of

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

, which he held along with that of anatomy. Marchetti had an excellent knowledge of anatomy, and made important contributions to

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

surgery,

orthopedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

and the treatment of

gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharge ...

wounds. For his merits, he was made

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the

Order of Saint Mark The Order of Saint Mark () was the sole order of chivalry of the Republic of Venice. It was named in honour of Venice's patron saint, Mark the Evangelist. History The Order of Saint Mark was the only chivalric order of the Republic of Venice. ...

. Marchetti became famous both in Italy and abroad.

Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, ) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithology, ornithologist, ichthyology, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics an ...

and

John Ray John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (November 29, 1627 – January 17, 1705) was a Christian England, English Natural history, naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his ...

attended his lectures during their stay in Padua in 1663-64. At the age of 80, he retired altogether from the university. He died in April 1673. His two sons, Domenico and Antonio, were likewise both professors in their native university of Padua. A famed anatomist, Domenico Marchetti was a fervent supporter of Harvey's theory of blood circulation, and a fierce opponent of Riolan. In 1652 he demonstrated, in the presence of

Thomas Bartholin Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, that liquid injected into the arteries emerged by the veins. Domenico Marchetti was the author of a good compendium of anatomy, according to the judgment of

Haller Haller is a surname of English language, English and German language, German origin. Notable people and characters with the surname include: * Albin Haller (1849–1925), French chemist * Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777), Swiss anatomist and physi ...

, which went through several editions, under the title of "Anatomia, cui Responsiones ad Riolanum, Anatomicum Parisiensem, in ipsius animadversionibus contra Veslingium, additae sunt", Padua, 1652.

Works

* "Anatomia", Venice, 1654. * "Tendinis flexoris pollicis ab equo evulsi observatio", Padua 1658. * "Sylloge Observationum Medico-chirurgicarum rariorum", Padua, 1664, several times reprinted, and translated into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. It contained fifty-three cases of some interest, and three tracts on

ulcers An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing ...

, on

fistulas In anatomy, a fistula (: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") is an abnormal connection (i.e. tube) joining two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other ho ...

of the

urethra The urethra (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

, and on spina ventosa.

Notes

Bibliography

* 1589 births 1673 deaths Physicians from the Republic of Venice Italian anatomists Italian surgeons Italian physicians Academic staff of the University of Padua {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchetti, Pietro Scientists from Padua