Alessio Spalla, court surgeon of Christina of Sweden and his unknown Queen’s autopsy report

2024; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 124; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00015458.2024.2350112

ISSN

0001-5458

Autores

Fabiola Zurlini, Silvia Iorio, Vera Nigrisoli Wärnhjelm,

Tópico(s)

History of Medicine Studies

Resumo

Background Queen Christina of Sweden, a prominent Early Modern European character, died in Rome on April 19, 1689. The scarce literature published about her illness and death agrees about the cause of the death in the diagnosis of erysipelas, that did not appear externally with an ulcer, but became manifest in her blood, causing an inflammation of heart and lungs. The article underlines the essential contribution of the learned surgeons to the development of practical anatomy in the late Seventeenth century as illustrated by the specific case of the Queen's autopsy report by the court surgeon Alessio Spalla.

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