1523-1562

Italian Anatomist

Gabriele Falloppio, an illustrious anatomist of the sixteenth century and one of the founders of modern anatomy, is best remembered for the first accurate description of human oviducts or "fallopian tubes," which he correctly described as resembling small trumpets. His 1561 work Observations Anatomicae included original observations on the eye, ear, teeth, and female reproductive system, introducing many anatomical terms including vagina, placenta, cochlea, labyrinth, and palate.

Born in 1523 in Modena, Italy, Falloppio was first educated in the classics and directed towards a career in the church. Later he studied medicine and then surgery, but after a series of fatal outcomes abandoned surgery and turned entirely to medical studies. He joined the medical school in Ferrara in 1545, accepted the chair of anatomy at the University of Pisa in 1549, and then in 1551 the famous chair of anatomy at Padua. While teaching at Padua he inspired...