Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
fal·lo·pi·an Pronunciation:
f&-'lO-pE-&n Function:
adjective often capitalized : relating to or discovered byFallopius
Falálopápio /fäl-'lop-yO/ or Falálopápia /-'lop-yä/,
Gabriele (
Latin Gabriel Faláloápiáus /f&-'lO-pE-&s)/ (1523–1562), Italian anatomist. A student of Andreas Vesalius and one of the great anatomists of his time, Fallopius published in 1561
Observationesanatomicae, a seminal work that offered a systematic description of human anatomy based on years of dissection experience. Of all the anatomical descriptions the most important were thoseconcerning the ears, face, and genitals. He described in detail the anatomy of the middle and inner ear (including the semicircular canals), and he named the cochlea. His original description of thefacial canal resulted in its subsequent eponymous designation. In his identification of the structures of the female reproductive tract he described the hymen and the clitoris and gave the scientificnames to the vagina and the placenta. His classic (but not original) description of the human oviducts resulted in his name being associated with them ever since.
