Volcher Coiter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1534 (1534) |
| Died | 2 June 1576(1576-06-02) (aged 41–42) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anatomy |
| Academic advisors | Ulisse Aldrovandi Gabriele Falloppio Bartolomeo Eustachi Guillaume Rondelet |
Volcher Coiter (also spelledCoyter orKoyter;Latin:Volcherus Coiterus; 1534 – 2 June 1576) was a Dutchanatomist who established the study of comparativeosteology and first described cerebrospinalmeningitis. He also studied the human eye and was able to demonstrate the replenishment of theaqueous humor. Coiter's muscle is a name sometimes used for thecorrugator superciliaris that is involved in wrinkling of the eyebrow. He illustrated his works with his own meticulously detailed drawings.
Coiter was born in apatrician family inGroningen. His father was a jurist and he studied initially underRegnerus Praedinius at the St. Martin's School in Groningen. Excelling in Latin, dialectics and mathematics, he received a stipend from the city to study abroad for five years which led him to study from 1555 inItaly andFrance and was a pupil ofUlisse Aldrovandi and Giulio Arenzi in Bologna;Gabriele Falloppio in Padua;Bartolomeo Eustachi in Rome; andGuillaume Rondelet. In Montpelier he metFelix Platter. He spent some time inTübingen, possibly studying underLeonhart Fuchs. He graduated in 1562 with a doctor of arts and medicine and returned to Bologna in 1563 as a teacher. He often clashed with barber surgeons. In 1565 he was sent to jail in Rome partly because he was a Protestant but was released by assistance from Germans and then was forced to leave Italy. He moved toAmberg serving as physician to the Duke of Bavaria before he becamecity physician ofNuremberg in 1569. He was often asked to conduct autopsies and dissect criminals who had been condemned to death. He published several works on human anatomy, wrote on the merits of medicinal baths, and wrote notes on the lectures of Falloppio. In 1575 he took part in theFrench Wars of Religion as field surgeon to Count PalatineJohann Casimir who went into France to support theHuguenots. He returned ill and died inChampagne during the German forces' return march.[1][2] His widow Helena was forced to deal with his debts.[3]
His works includedExternarum et Internarum Principalium Humani Corporis Partium Tabulae (1572)[4] andDe Avium Sceletis et Praecipius Musculis (1575). His work included detailed anatomical studies of birds and included careful illustrations made by him[5] signed "V.C.D." (=Volcher Coiter Delineat). Among his other works was a classification of the birds based on structure and habits. His works on human anatomy included studies of the ear, and the eye. He described the corrugator muscles above the eye (which cause the wrinkling of the eyebrow) which are sometimes called Coiter's muscles. He also examined the development of chicken embryos inside eggs.[6][7] He also examined the bones of a human foetus.[8] He produced an earlydichotomous classification key based on anatomical characters.[9] He was said to have played the lute and taught Felix Platter to play the harp.[1][10]
