Nuovi organi scoperti nel corpo umano. Pistoia, 1840: PRESENTATION COPY - UNTRIMMED

Amazing presentation copy donated by the author with his handwritten dedication note

First and only Edition - untrimmed

Pacini, Filippo. Nuovi organi scoperti nel corpo umano / da Filippo Pacini. Pistoja : Tip. Cino, 1840.

4to (24 x 15 cm) original paper boards with printed title and decorative border, pp. 59, [1].

The discovery of the Lamellar Corpuscle

or Pacini Corpuscle

The Pacinian corpuscle, lamellar corpuscle or Vater-Pacini corpuscle is one of the four major types of mechanoreceptors (specialized nerve ending with adventitious tissue for mechanical sensation) found in mammalian skin.

This type of mechanoreceptor is found in both hairy, and hairless skin, viscera, joints, and attached to periosteum of bone, primarily responsible for sensitivity to vibration. Few of them are also sensitive to quasi-static or low frequency pressure stimulus while most of them respond only to sudden disturbances and are especially sensitive to vibration of few hundreds of Hz. The vibrational role may be used for detecting surface texture, e.g., rough vs. smooth. Most of the Pacinian corpuscles act as rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors. Groups of corpuscles respond to pressure changes, e.g. on grasping or releasing an object.

"When Pacini was still a student in Pistoia, he described the presence of corpuscles along the digital nerves of the hand. Already observed in previous works, Paci-ni also provided a functional role for the organelles. The presentation of the research at the Società Medico-Fisica of Florence (1835) and at the Prima Riunione degli Scienziati Italiani in Pisa (1839), and its publication in the Nuovo Giornale de' Letterati (1836) were quite ignored. Then, just arrived in Pisa, Pacini decided to publish a book entirely dedicated to history, anatomy, and physiology of the nuovi organi, with experimental procedures adopted during dissection. Finally, in 1843 Henle sent a letter to the Quinta Unione degli Scienziati Italiani in Lucca, where he firmly praised the Pacini's discovery. Indeed, in 1844 Henle and Kölliker published a book with further observations about the new organs, now called Pacinischen Körperchen. The right tribute to Pacini's merit was accomplished. Pacini described large ovoid corpuscles consisting of concentric layers or lamellae of connective tissue surrounding a nerve ending, their microscopic structure and distribution in the body, and their function as being concerned with the sensation of touch and deep pressure. He also compared the corpuscles to the electrical organs of the torpedo, almost formed like a voltaic pile, and interpreted them as animal magneto-motors, as organs for that peculiar vital energy known as animal magnetism or mesmerism. In this respect, Pacini's discovery was also highly considered by mediums to explain some paranormal phenomena. Some interesting preparations of lamellar corpuscles were left by Pacini in the anatomical museums of Pisa and Florence." (Natale, op.cit.)

The anatomist and pathologist Filippo Pacini (1812-1883) was born in Pistoia, where he worked until 1840, then he moved to Pisa (1840-1846), and Florence (since 1847) where he died.

He conducted the first research in Pistoia and in 1835, he presented a report to the Florentine Medical-Physical Society in which he illustrated the discovery of the corpuscles of the digital nerves which today bear his name. During the period in which he worked in Pisa with Paolo Savi, he developed great anatomical expertise, especially as regards Comparative Anatomy. Numerous studies date back to this experience, in particular on microscopic anatomy, with studies on the so-called "electric fish", the torpedo and the Electrophorus electricus.

He also studied the anatomy of the retina, the mechanics of the intercostal muscles, the processes of osmosis and absorption in the organism. In 1854, during the cholera pandemic that broke out in Florence, Pacini was able to demonstrate the presence, in the intestinal mucosa, of millions of elements that he called "vibrios" to which he attributed the cause of the contagion, thus laying the foundations of Infectious Diseases.

Having described the state of "morte apparente" (apparent death) of cholera patients, in 1867, he developed a method for artificial respiration, based on the rhythmic mobilization of the upper limbs in the unconscious patient, which he advised to resuscitate people in asphyxiation or poisoned by narcotics. Pacini's scientific contributions are countless, from Anatomy to Physiology and Forensic Medicine.

Conditions: perfectly preserved; untrimmed.

Provenance: Presentation copy: author handwritten dedication note "Al Chiarissimo sig. Villa, L'Autore", on front board.

References: Gianfranco Natale, Filippo Pacini and the discovery of the lamellar corpuscles, Department of Human Morphology and Applied Biology, University of Pisa, Italy.