Antonio Maria Valsalva

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Antonio Maria Valsalva
Antonio Maria Valsalva
Born	(1666-01-17)17 January 1666 Imola, Papal States
Died	2 February 1723(1723-02-02) (aged 57) Bologna, Papal States
Nationality	Italian
Known for	Valsalva maneuver
Scientific career
Fields	Anatomist
Academic advisors	Marcello Malpighi
Notable students	Giovanni Battista Morgagni

Antonio Maria Valsalva (17 January 1666 – 2 February 1723), was an Italian anatomist born in Imola. His research focused on the anatomy of the ears. He coined the term Eustachian tube and he described the aortic sinuses of Valsalva in his writings, published posthumously in 1740. His name is associated with the Valsalva antrum of the ear and the Valsalva maneuver, which is used as a test of circulatory function. Anatomical structures bearing his name are Valsalva’s muscle and taeniae Valsalvae.^[1][2] He observed that when weakness of one side of the body is caused by a lesion in the brain, the culprit lesion tends to be on the side opposite (contralateral) to the weak side; this finding is named the "Valsalva doctrine" in his honor.^[3]