Giovanni Domenico Santorini

Who was Giovanni Domenico Santorini?

Giovanni Domenico Santorini was an Italian anatomist. He was a native of Venice, earning his medical doctorate from Pisa in 1701. He is remembered for conducting anatomical dissections of the human body.

From 1705 until 1728, Santorini performed anatomical demonstrations in Venice. His best written work was the 1724 publication of Observationes anatomicae, a detailed work involving anatomical aspects of the human body. He is credited for providing descriptions of several anatomical structures, including the following:

Santorini's cartilage: The corniculate cartilage of the larynx.

Santorini's concha: The superior nasal concha.

Duct of Santorini: An accessory duct of the pancreas.

Santorini's fissures: Vertical fissures in the anterior part of the cartilage of the external acoustic meatus.

Santorini's minor caruncle: Location of the opening of the accessory pancreatic duct into the duodenum.

Santorini's muscle: Bundle of muscular fibers that draw the angle of the mouth laterally. Sometimes called the Albinus muscle; named after German anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus.