ANTONIO, was born in Lombardy between the years 1746 and 1750. He early distinguished himself as an anatomist and surgeon, and his works, in both these branches of science, have spread his reputation throughout all Europe. For many years he occupied the chairs of clinical and operative surgery in the school of Pavia; and when he became emeritus professor, he was really the director of the faculty of medicine in the university which he so greatly contributed to render celebrated. Scarpa was an exact as well as a laborious observer, and did more than most men of his time to advance the progress of surgery. Surgical anatomy, which has given a particular direction to the researches of surgeons, owes its first development to the labours of Scarpa, and forms, in some sort, the distinctive character of his productions.
His works are not altogether free from faults. They recommend themselves more by the beauty than by the precision of their style; but the excellence of the precepts which his writings convey, and the judicious and original observations on which they are based, have placed several of them in the rank of classical books, and have led to their translation into most of the languages of Europe.
Scarpa commenced his career as an anatomist, but afterwards directed his attention principally to the practice of surgery; and if he sometimes maintains opinions that are paradoxical, if his theories and his precepts are at times hardly defensible, we still recognise, even in his errors, the views of a great master, and thoughts which direct the reader to useful reflection.
Uniting to the love of science an exquisite taste for the fine arts, the author has illustrated his writings with engravings, which are models of exactness, elegance, and purity. The plates which represent the nerves of the heart, and those which accompany the treatises on hernia and aneurism, are among the most perfect productions of this kind.
Scarpa is author of a number of writings, many of them inserted in the journals of Italy, and on local subjects which are little known. His principal works are, 1. Anatomicae Disquisitiones de Auditu et Olfactu, Pavia, 1789, in folio; 2. Tabulae Neurologicae ad illustrandam Historiam Cardiacorum Nervorum, Pavia, 1794, in folio; 3. Commentarius de Penitiori Ossium Structura, Leips. 1799, in 4to; 4. Sull' Ernia, Memorie Anatomico-chirurgiche, Milan, 1810, in folio; 5. Riflessioni ed Osservazioni Anatomico-chirurgiche sull'Aneurisma, Pavia, 1804, in folio; 6. Saggio di Osservazioni ed Esperienze sulle principali Malattie degli occhi, Pavia, 1801, in 4to; 7. Sul taglio Ipogastrico per l'Estrazione della pietra dalla Vesica Orinaria, Milan, 1820, in 4to; 8. Sullo Scirro e sul Cancro, Milan, 1821, in 4to; 9. Memoria sulla Ligatura delle principale Arterie; 10. Lettera sulla Ligatura temporaria delle grosse Arterie degli occhi, Milan, 1823, in 8vo; 11. Saggio di Osservazioni sul taglio Retto-vesicale per l'Estrazione della pietra dalla Vesica Orinaria, Pavia, 1823, in 8vo; 12. Esame della terza Memoria del Professore Vacca sul taglio Retto-vesicale, Milan, 1824, in 8vo; 13. Memoria sull'Idrocele del Cordone Spermatico, Pavia, 1823, in 4to.