Adam Christian Thebesius' Channels into the Human Heart: the Thebesian Veins and the Thebesian Valve
Publication Date
6-1-2019
Journal
The Texas Heart Institute Journal
DOI
10.14503/THIJ-18-6604
PMID
31708698
Publication Date(s)
June 2019
Language
English
PMCID
PMC6827465
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
6-1-2019
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-Print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Cardiology/history, coronary circulation/physiology, coronary sinus, heart/anatomy & histology, history, 18th century, Poland, Thebesius AC
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
In 1708, Adam Christian Thebesius, a 22-year-old student at Leiden University, presented his graduate thesis, Disputatio medica inauguralis de circulo sanguinis in corde. More than a doctoral dissertation, this groundbreaking work opened new channels into the study of the human coronary venous system. Thebesius' theory about the vascular communication between the coronary arteries and the chambers of the heart helped to advance understanding of hemodynamic principles and to clarify the physiologic pathways of the coronary circulation. The following article—the third in a trilogy about Lower Silesian scientists—provides an overview of the life story and achievements of this Silesian physician and innovator, whose name was immortalized in 2 cardiac eponyms: the Thebesian veins and the Thebesian valve.