GIAMBATTISTA MORGAGNI

Giambattista Morgagni (Forlì, 25 February 1682 - Padua, 5 December 1771) was a great scientist and founder of modern pathological anatomy. He received the title of "Father of modern Pathology".

Analitical text

G.B. Morgagni was born on 25 February 1682, in Forlì, into a rich family of noble origins. His father died when he was 7 and his mother made the most hard sacrifices to preserve and administer the immense family fortune, so that she could guarantee her only son a most respectable life and the best studies. The young Morgagni didn't disappoint the expectations: he manifested a great aptitude for study and took an interest in anatomy, philosophy, botany, science and medicine. He carried out his university studies in Medicine first in Bologna, where he sat under the teachings of Valsava, a brilliant pupil of Malpighi, and then in Venice. In 1709 he returned to Forlì where he started to work as a practicing physician with great success. In 1714 he moved to Padua where he was appointed professor of Practical Medicine and Anatomy. He laid the foundation of pathological anatomy and dedicated himself to the study of the anatomical evolution of diseased organs. In fact, he understood that diseases change the organs in the human body, leaving recognizable traces behind them. He was a charismatic man with a strong personality, a great scientist with a brilliant and modern vision of things, as it is proven by the fact that he systematically used the scientific method in his research activity. He died in Padua in 1771. The prestigious statue standing in Piazza Morgagni was dedicated to him. It was sculpted by S. Salvini and was donated to the town of Forlì by Prof. Camillo Versari in 1875.