This microscope slide, prepared by Pacini in 1854, was clearly identified as containing the cholera bacillus.

Filippo Pacini (May 25, 1812—July 9, 1883) was an Italian anatomist, posthumously famous for isolating the cholera bacillus Vibrio cholerae in 1854, well before Robert Koch's more widely accepted discoveries thirty years later. Image File history File links Filippo_pacini_cholera_discovery. ... Image File history File links Filippo_pacini_cholera_discovery. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Greek anatome, from ana-temnein, to cut up), is the branch of biology that deals with the structure and organization of living things; thus there is animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytonomy). ... Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease, caused by bacteria that are typically ingested by drinking water that is contaminated by improper sanitation, or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially shellfish. ... Binomial name Vibrio cholerae R. Koch 1883 Vibrio cholerae is a gram negative bacterium with a curved-rod shape that causes cholera in humans. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Robert Koch For the American lobbyist, see Bobby Koch. ...

Pacini was born in Pistoia, Tuscany to a humble family, but was given a religious education in hopes that he would become a bishop. However, in 1830 he was given a scholarship to the venerable medical school in Pistoia. He learned his trade as a physician, and learned to dissect and examine bodies with a microscope. Pistoia (ancient Pistoria) is a city in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km (18 mi) west and north of Florence. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ...

In 1831, during a dissection class, Pacini discovered small sensory organs in the nervous system which can detect pressure and vibrations. He studied them closely from 1833 on, and first discussed them in 1835 at the "Società medico-fisica" in Florence, but did not publish his research ("Nuovi organi scoperti nel corpo umano") until 1840. Within just a few years, the work was widely known in Europe and the bodies had become known as Pacinian corpuscles. The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and processes input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... A Pacinian corpuscle is a structure that functions as a mechanoreceptor. ...

He served as an assistant to Paolo Savi in Pisa from 1840 to 1843, then began working at the Institute of Human Anatomy. In 1847 Pacini begain teaching at the Lyceum in Florence, and then was named chair of General and Topographic Anatomy at the "Istituto di Studi Superiori" at the University of Florence in 1849, where he remained to the end of his career. Paulo Savi (July 11, 1798 - April 5, 1871), was an Italian geologist and ornithologist. ... Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... The University of Florence (Università degli Studi di Firenze, UNIFI) is one of the largest universities in Italy. ...

The Asiatic Cholera Pandemic of 1846-63 which swept through Florence in 1845-46 brought the disease to the center of Pacini's attention. In 1854 he described the disease in a paper called "Microscopical observations and pathological deductions on cholera", but because of the prevailing belief of Italian scientists in the miasma theory of disease, the work was not noted by others until many years after his death, despite additional publications in 1865, 1866, 1871, 1876 and 1880 which identified the cause of the disease's lethality, and even proposed some effective treatments. John Snow, who disproved the miasma theory, and Robert Koch, widely credited with the discovery of the bacillum thirty years later, were unaware of his previous work. The miasma theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. The miasma theory was consistent with the observations that: disease was associated with poor sanitation (and hence foul odours) and that sanitary improvements reduced disease... Dr. John Snow The English physician John Snow (March 15, 1813–June 16, 1858) was a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene, and a pioneer of epidemiology. ... Robert Koch For the American lobbyist, see Bobby Koch. ...

When Koch, a much more widely respected scientist who had previously identified the tuberculosis bacillus, presented his findings to the Cholera Commission of the Imperial Health Office in Berlin in 1884, the commission congratulated him, but also recognized Pacini's previous discovery of the bacterium. In 1965, the international committee on nomenclature adopted the formal name Vibrio cholerae Pacini 1854 to honor his work. Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...

During his career Pacini also published several studies on the retina of the human eye, the electric organs in electric fishes, the structure of bone, and the mechanics of respiration.

Pacini did not marry, and spent most of the money remaining after his scientific investigation on the long term care of his two ailing sisters. He died nearly penniless in Florence on July 9, 1883, and was buried in the cemetery of the Misericordia. In 1935 his remains were transferred to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, along with the remains Atto Tigri and Filippo Civinini, two other noted anatomists. July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

References

• UCLA: Who first discovered cholera?
• Who Named It: Filippo Pacini