Guidelines for readers of the scientific papers by Niels Stensen
By Troels Kardel, MD Stensen’s active life in research lasted from 1660 to 1674. His 34 scientific works fall into two main categories: the anatomical works and the geological works. 33 of these were collected and edited in Nicolai Stenonis…
The function of ovaries
By Hans Kermit Anatomists in Stensen’s time were aware of the ovaries and the fallopian tubes and of their function in oviparous, or egg-laying, animals. The corresponding organs in mammals and humans had also been described, but were understood to…
Milk is produced in the breasts
Art: “Motherhood” by Stanisław Wyspiański. National Museum, Warsaw By Hans Kermit Stensen discovered that milk production was a result of glandular activity in the breast. Previously it had been thought that milk was produced elsewhere in the body and carried to the…
Steno-Fallot’s tetralogy, the mystery of “blue babies”
By Hans Kermit When Stensen was in Paris he performed an autopsy on a stillborn child with heart disease. He was the first to describe this abnormality. Two hundred years later, in 1888, the French physician, Arthur Fallot, observed the…
