Carlo Forlanini
Carlo Forlanini (11 June 1847 – 26 May 1918) was an Italian physician. He was the elder brother of aviation pioneer Enrico Forlanini.
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Biography
Forlanini was born in Milan.
In 1870 he earned his medical degree from the University of Pavia, where he studied as an alumnus of Borromeo College.[1] Afterwards, he joined the staff of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan, and later served as a professor at the universities of Turin (from 1884) and Pavia (from 1889), where in 1900 he was appointed chair of clinical medicine. He was notably a teacher of Scipione Riva-Rocci, the inventor of an early sphygmomanometer.[2]
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Forlanini specialized in research of tuberculosis and respiratory disorders. In the 1880s he constructed an apparatus for inducing artificial pneumothorax ("collapsed lung") as a therapeutic treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. His apparatus introduced nitrogen into the pleural cavity by way of a large hypodermic needle, and in doing so, produced pneumothorax. This work led to numerous nominations for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine from 1912 to 1919. [3] In 1906 Christian Saugman improved the device by adding a water manometer for measurement purposes.[2] This technique is no longer in use to treat tuberculosis.[4]
Today the "Carlo Forlanini Institute" in Rome, founded in 1934, is named in his honor.[2]
Selected works
- L'aeroterapia, Milano : Stab. Tip. Della Casa Edit. Dott. Francesco Vallardi, 1881 – Aerotherapy.
- La tecnica delle inalazioni medicamentose, Milano, Vallardi, 1883 – The technique of medicinal inhalation.
- Nuovi apparati pneumatici trasportabili, Milano : Dott. Leonardo Vallardi Edit., 1889 – A new transportable pneumatic apparatus.
- Storia di un caso di tisi polmonare curato colle iniezioni parenchimatose, Milano : L. Vallardi, 1889 – History of a case of pulmonary tuberculosis cured via parenchymatous injections.
- La cura della tisi polmonare col pneumotorace prodotto artificialmente, Pavia : Successori Marelli, 1907 – The cure of pulmonary tuberculosis using artificial pneumothorax.[5]
References
- "Almo Collegio Borromeo (Pavia) - Study in Italy". Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
- Carlo Forlanini, inventor of artificial pneumothorax for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Thorax. 1983 May; 38(5): 326–332.
- Hansson N, Polianski I. Therapeutic Pneumothorax and the Nobel Prize. Ann Thorac Surg 2015;100(2):761-5
- Apparatus for producing artificial pneumothorax, Birmingham, England, 1920-1940 Science Museum
- Most widely held works by Carlo Forlanini WorldCat Identities