Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 737

GIORGIO BAGLIVI (1668?-1707?) De fibra motrice, et morbosa. Apud Constantinum 1700 58 pp. 20.2 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 736

This letter is among several from Baglivi to Pascoli that are included at the end of the latter's Il corpo-umano (see No. 758). In the letter Baglivi describes what we now call striated and smooth muscles and gives an account of their gross and microscopic structure. He believed that striated muscles were used for making short, rapid movements while smooth muscles were used for longer, sustained motions. Baglivi also observed that isolated portions of heart muscle contract and relax without external stimulation and that portions of skeletal muscle contract when stimulated by an external source.

See Related Record(s): 758

Cited references: Wellcome II, p. 84

Gift of John Martin, M.D.