Antonio Scarpa and the discovery of the membranous inner ear.
OBJECTIVE
To give a historical perspective of Antonio Scarpa's contributions to otology, specifically the discovery of the inner ear organs as the foundation for the experimental work that followed.


METHODS
Scarpa's original descriptions of the human inner ear were translated from the Latin text, and his illustrations were analyzed and compared with current knowledge.


CONCLUSIONS
Antonio Scarpa's anatomic and clinical studies place him among the great scientists of the eighteenth century. His discoveries about the inner ear established the limit of what could be learned without advanced histologic techniques and provided the foundation for the work that eventually led to the modern understanding of ear physiology.
Canalis
R F
RF
Division of Head Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology), Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California 90509, USA.
Mira
E
E
Bonandrini
L
L
Hinojosa
R
R
D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000266:history*; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology