The Discovery of Venous Valve

The Discovery of Venous Valve
The fact the veins of the body have valves that regulate the flow of blood to the heart was discovered in 1579 by Girolano Fabrizio (1537-1619), whose Latinized name was Gironomo Fabricius.

In the same traditions in the study of anatomy as Vesalius, Fabrizio studied under Fallopius, who himself was a student of Vesalius.

Fabrizio followed Fallopius in the chair of medicine at the University of Padua and was in turn a teacher of William Harvey (1578-1657), who developed the understanding of the circulation of blood.

Fabrizio also described the location of the lens of the eye, worked out the anatomy of the larynx and investigated the mechanics of respiration and the action of the muscles.

Fabrizio demonstrated the working of the venous valves in 1579, but worked for more than two decades on his studies, not publishing his results, in De Venatrum Ostiolis, until 1603. He also studied the late fetal stages of various animals, described the placenta, and speculated on the process of human conception.

Like others on the tradition begun by Vesalius, Fabrizio was willing to use dissection and experimentation to challenge traditions, contributing to the growth of the scientific spirit that merged more fully in the century following his death.
The Discovery of Venous Valve