Soviet Medical Encyclopedia

Alessandro Achillini

History of Medicine, Biographies, Anatomy

Also known as: Achillini, Alessandro

Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.

Summary

Alessandro Achillini (1463–1512) was a famous Bolognese philosopher and anatomist, and one of the few in the 15th century who dared to dissect human corpses. He taught philosophy and medicine in Bologna and Padua, earning renown as a brilliant disputant and a follower of Aristotle.

Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)

ACHILLINI, Alessandro (Alessandro Achillini, 1463–1512), a famous Bolognese philosopher and anatomist. At the age of twenty-one he was already a doctor of philosophy and medicine; for 22 years he taught both of these disciplines in his native city; from 1506 to 1508 he served as professor of philosophy in Padua. Achillini was an invincible opponent in disputes; "Aut diabolus, aut magnus Achillinus" contemporaries said of him and called him a second Aristotle.

Alessandro Achillini: figure 1 from the 1928–1936 encyclopedia article

Achillini is one of the few who dared to dissect human corpses in the 15th century. He is credited with: "Corporis humani anatomia" (1516), "In Mundini anatomiam annotationes" (1524), and "Anatomicae annotationes magni Al. Achillini, Bononiensis editae per fratrem Ion. Philotheum" (1520).

Cite this page

“Alessandro Achillini.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.com/article/achillini/