Michele Carlo Frari (Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

 1813-Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

? 1896) was a renowned professor of obstetrics in Padua from 1843 until 1889.

Life and work

Michele Frari was the author of many obstetrical scientific articles and the inventor of various obstetrical instruments, including the so-called "Frari Forceps". He also published a textbook on obstetrics “Obstetrics theoretical and practical”, with its second edition that appeared in 1876.
Michele Frari, who was the son of famous Šibenik

Šibenik

Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...

-born physician and epidemiologist, Angelo Antonio Frari

Angelo Antonio Frari

Angelo Antonio Frari was the municipal physician and the head of the lazaretto of Split/Spalato , the protomedicus, and the president of the Maritime Health Magistrate of Venice , famous epidemiologist and historian of medicine.-Origins:Angelo Frari came from...

, also participated in the social life of Šibenik: in 1889 he took part in the discussion about possible location of Niccolo Tommaseo

Niccolò Tommaseo

Niccolò Tommaseo was an Italian Dalmatian linguist, journalist and essayist, the editor of a Dizionario della Lingua Italiana in eight volumes , of a dictionary of synonyms and other works...

’s monument in Šibenik.

Reflections on Frari's work

As a response to criticism by Dr Ferdinando Moroni, Dr Ghirotti from Padua vehemently defended Frari’s work in "Giornale veneto di science mediche" in 1868. Ghirotti accused Moroni of ignorance and avidity (as “being the aspirant on the position at the Cathedra in Padua”). Ghirotti discussed the obstetrical issues which were mentioned in the Frari’s textbook, such as symphisiotomy, pelvic/fetal head diameters, fetal/maternal auscultation, geminal and extra-uterine pregnancy, mola, menstrual cycles, anatomical variations of the uterus, maternal alimentation, infertility, and death in utero. He concluded that Professor Michele Carlo Frari was a highly qualified obstetrician and skilled surgeon, reliable and extremely appreciated for his work, and that his textbook was “written according to true principals of the art, with the right criteria and argumentation, based on proper experience and on opinions of celebrated obstetricians of various nations” (20).

Sources

• Krnić A. Giuseppe and Aloysius Frari’s Works on Rabies and History of Frari Medical Family of Šibenik, Dalmatia. Croat Med J. 2007 June; 48(3): 378–390. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2080547