Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with September 20.
Events
1786 – Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) recorded a pivotal observation in electrophysiology. A dissected frog’s leg contracted when the crural nerve was touched with a metal scalpel near an electrical machine, helping spark his theory of “animal electricity” and later work linking electrical stimulation to muscle (and cardiac) contraction.
Births
1904 – George Quentin Chance (1904-1975), Irish radiologist; described the Chance fracture (1948)
1936 – Virginia Claire Canale (1936-2005), pediatric hematologist’ described Canale-Smith syndrome (1967)
Deaths
1960 – Ernest William Goodpasture (1886-1960), American pathologist; described Goodpasture syndrome (1919)
Further reading
- Galvani L. De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari commentarius, De Bononiensi Scientiarum et Artium Instituto atque Academia commentarii 7 (1791) 363–418.
- Piccolino M. Luigi Galvani’s path to animal electricity. C R Biol. 2006 May-Jun;329(5-6):303-18
BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |