The biologist who showed for the first time the effect of gastric juice on the digestion of meat: Who is Lazzaro Spallanzani?
He did not welcome the French Revolution. Spallanzani is one of Pasteur's pioneers. Based on the results of experiments that cannot be denied, he suggested that the animal pods (scalded ones) appearing in the boiled waters were not born spontaneously, but from microscopic creatures existing in the air.
Italian biologist (Duchy of Modena, Scandiano 1729, – Pavia 1799).
He studied with the Reggio Jesuits (Emilia), earned the minor rank, taught in Reggio and Modena, and then devoted himself to the natural sciences.
He was invited to Pavia, to the chair of natural history by Empress Maria Theresia (1759), where he made almost all of his physiology experiments.
He did not welcome the French Revolution. When Pavia was captured by the French (May 26, 1796), Saliceti offered him a chair in Paris on behalf of the Directorate, but Spallanzani refused.
Lazzaro Spallanzani (12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and animal echolocation. His research on biogenesis paved the way for the downfall of the theory of spontaneous generation, a prevailing idea at the time that organisms develop from inanimate matters, though the final death blow to the idea was dealt by French scientist Louis Pasteur a century later.
Spallanzani was the first to demonstrate the effect of gastric juice on the digestion of meats and experimented with artificial digestion. He was also the first to elucidate the reproductive mechanism of frogs. He also performed the first artificial insemination (1777).
He dealt with the issues of circulation and respiration and was one of those who adopted Lavoisier's theory. He opposed Buffon's theory of organic molecules. Based on the results of experiments that cannot be denied, he suggested that the animal pods (scalded ones) appearing in the boiled waters were not born spontaneously, but from microscopic creatures existing in the air.
In this respect, Spallanzani is one of Pasteur's forerunners. He has published many works and reviews. Major work: Saggio di Osservazioni Microscopiche Concernenti il Sistema della Generazione (Experiments to Explain Reproduction) [1765].