Spallanzani Digestion Experiment, 18th
by Science Source
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Spallanzani Digestion Experiment, 18th
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Science Source
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Experiment on digestion carried out by Spallanzani. He fed birds with food in perforated containers which had a long piece of string attached. The perforated chambers were recovered after some time by pulling on the string. From his results, he concluded that a major part of digestion is the solvent action of fluids in the stomach. He named these fluids gastric juice. Lazzaro Spallanzani (January 10, 1729 - February 12, 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest, biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and essentially discovered echolocation. His research of biogenesis paved the way for the investigations of Louis Pasteur. Spallanzani researched the theory about the spontaneous generation of cellular life in 1768. His experiment suggested that microbes move through the air and that they could be killed through boiling. He discovered and described animal (mammal) reproduction, showing that it requires both semen and an ovum. He was the first to perform in vitro fertilization, with frogs, and an artificial insemination, using a dog. He was the pioneer of the original study of echolocation. In 1780 he published, Dissertationi di fisica animale e vegetale, wherein he first interpreted the process of digestion. He proved it was not just a mechanical process of trituration (grinding up the food), but one of actual chemical solution, taking place primarily in the stomach, by the action of the gastric juice. He died from bladder cancer in 1799 at the age of 70. After his death, his bladder was removed for study by his colleagues, after which it was placed on public display in a museum in Pavia, where it remains to this day. Engraving from "Vies des savants illustres" by Louis Figuier. This image has been color enhanced.
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October 21st, 2016
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