Cardiovascular medicine in Morgagni's De sedibus: dawn of cardiovascular pathology

Abstract

The most significant cardiovascular anatomoclinical observations from Morgagni's masterpiece De sedibus et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis (1761) are herein reported, divided into the current taxonomy according to cardiac structure: (a) aorta and pulmonary artery, (b) pericardium, (c) coronary arteries, (d) myocardium, (e) endocardium, (f) congenital heart defects, and (g) heart rhythm disorders. Morgagni's interpretations in cardiovascular pathology were strictly related with the most advanced theories of his time, such as those of blood circulation and iatromechanics; nevertheless, he remained close to the empirical description of clinical and pathological anatomy phenomena with their individual specificity. Through a systematic review of the literature, he compared the data from his own observations and experiments with those from physicians he considered reliable by applying the method of literature review which is still valid nowadays.

Keywords: Anatomoclinical method; Cardiovascular pathology; Giovanni Battista Morgagni.