Morgagni Hernia
Other Known Aliases – none
Definition – anterior or retrosternal congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Clinical Significance – This is a rare type of congenital diaphragmatic hernias seen in only 2% of cases. It occurs through the foramina of Morgagni immediately adjacent and posterior to the xiphoid process.
History – Named after Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771), who was an Italian anatomist and received his medical and philosophy doctorate from the University of Bologna in 1701 at the age of 19. He had a passion for studying anatomy and trained as a prosector for Antonio Valsalva at the Santa Maria della Morte hospital in Bologna. His reputation grew during this time and he was invited all over Europe to write about and teach anatomy. His greatest work would be “De Sedibus et causis morborum per anatomem indagatis” (Of the seats and causes of diseases investigated through anatomy”. This was a five book, two volume tome of his life’s work and is regarded as one of the founding works for modern pathological anatomy….if not one of the most fundamentally important works in the history of medicine.
References
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