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biologist. He disproved the theory that microbes spontaneously generate
out of rotten food by showing that they would not grow in flasks of broth
that had been boiled for 30 minutes and then sealed. Spallanzani also concluded that the fundamental factor in digestion is the solvent property of gastric juice - a term first used by him. He studied respiration, proving that tissues use oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Spallanzani was born in Scandiano, Emilia-Romagna, and studied at Bologna. He was professor at Reggio College 1754-60, at Modena University 1760-69, and from 1769 at Pavia. He was also a priest. In 1771, while examining a chick embryo, Spallanzani discovered vascular connections between arteries and veins - the first time this had been observed in a warm-blooded animal. He studied the effects of growth on the circulation in chick embryos and tadpoles, and showed that the arterial pulse is caused by sideways pressure on the expansile artery walls from heartbeats transmitted by the bloodstream. Spallanzani also studied the migration of swallows and eels, the flight of bats, and the electric discharge of torpedo fish. In addition to his biological work, Spallanzani pioneered the science of vulcanology. |