Fallopius

Fallopius, GABRIEL, Italian anatomist, born at or near Modena in 1523. He was professor of Anatomy in 1548 at Pisa, and in 1551 at Padua, where he died, 9th October 1562. He devoted special attention to the anatomy of bones, and wrote careful descriptions of the ethmoid and sphenoid bones, and of the internal ear. The canal which transmits the facial nerve after it leaves the nerve of hearing is still known as the aqueduct of Fallopius. In myology he corrected various errors into which Vesalius had fallen. He also studied the organs of generation in both sexes, and the Fallopian tube which connects each ovary with the uterus (see OVARIES, WOMB) is named after him. He was superintendent of the Botanical Garden at Padua, and had a reputation as a botanist. A complete edition of his works in four folio volumes was published in 1600.