Engraving of Sanctorius of Padua

Santorio Santorio (March 29, 1561–February 22, 1636), also called Santorio Santorii, Sanctorius of Padua, and various combinations of these names, was an Italian physiologist, physician, and professor. From 1611 to 1624 he was a professor at Padua where he performed experiments in temperature, respiration and weight. Sanctorius studied what he termed insensible perspiration and originated the study of metabolism. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1636 (MDCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... For other uses, see Doctor. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Events June 23 - Henry Hudsons crew maroons him, his son and 7 others in a boat November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ... Events January 24 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa. ... Padua, Italy, (Italian: IPA: , Latin: Patavium, Venetian: ) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, the economic and communications hub of the region. ... For other uses, see Temperature (disambiguation). ... Breathing transports oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body. ... For other uses, see Weight (disambiguation). ... A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ...

For a period of thirty years Sanctorius weighed himself, everything he ate and drank, as well as his urine and feces. He compared the weight of what he had eaten to that of his waste products, the latter being considerably smaller. He produced his theory of insensible perspiration as an attempt to account for this difference. His findings had little scientific value, but he is still celebrated for his empirical methodology. The "weighing chair," which he constructed and employed during this experiment, is also famous. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Horse feces Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animals digestive tract expelled through the anus (or cloaca) during defecation. ... A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. ...

He is credited with the design of the clinical thermometer, which he introduced in his Sanctorii Sanctorii Commentaria in primam fen primi libri Canonis Avicennae, a commentary on Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine. He invented a device which he called the pulsilogium for measuring the pulse which was the first machine system in medical history. A century later another physician, de la Croix, used the pulsilogium to test cardiac function. Sanctorius also invented an early waterbed. In 1614, he wrote De statica medicina, a medical text that saw five publications through 1737. A medical/clinical thermometer showing the temperature of 38. ... It has been suggested that List of temperature sensors be merged into this article or section. ... (c. ... A Latin copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1484, located at the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. ... A waterbed or water mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ...

References and external links

• Santorio Sanctorius at the Science & Society Picture Library.
• The first man/machine interaction in medicine: the pulsilogium of Sanctorius of Padua, J. Levett and G. Agarwal, Medical instrumentation 13 (Jan.-Feb. 1979), #1, 61–63. Abstract at PubMed
• Sanctorius in the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (via Infoplease.)
• Santorio Santorio at The Galileo Project