Main Entry: Sten·sen's duct Variant: alsoSten·son's duct/'sten-s&nz-/ Function: noun :PAROTID DUCT StenásenorSteenásen/'stAn-s&n/, Niels ( LatinNicolaus Steno) (1638–1686), Danish anatomist and geologist. Although Stensen had prepared to become a physician and eventually became a Catholic priest, his importance in sciencerests with his anatomical and geological researches. An early discovery was the duct of the parotid gland in 1660. In 1669 he published his geological observations in a work that was seminal to thedevelopment of geology. He put forth the revolutionary concept that fossils are the remains of ancient living organisms. He was the first to realize that the earth's crust contains a chronologicalhistory of geologic events and that the earth's history could be reconstructed by a careful analysis of the strata and fossils.
