Marcus Gerbezius
Marcus Gerbezius (1658-1718) was a Slovenian physician
Marko Gerbec was a pioneer of Slovenian scientific medicine. A gifted observer and researcher, Gerbezius published 78 of his ‘Observationes’ in Academiae Caesareo-Leopoldinae Naturae Curiosorum Ephemerides.
Provided first description of Stokes-Adams syndrome in 1717
Biography
- Born October 24, 1658 in Šentvid pri Stični, part of the Austrian Empire, and now Slovenia.
- Completed philosophical studies in Ljubljana then studied medicine in Vienna, Austria
- 1683 – Continued medical studies at Padua University, Italy where his portrait is one of the 40 portraits of distinguished physicians, anatomists and pathologists of the era in the “Sala dei Quaranta”
- 1684 – Further medical studies at Bologna University, Italy with anatomist Marcello Malpighi (1628–1694); Graduated Doctor of Medicine
- 1685-1718 Provincial physician in Ljubljana, Carniola. Physician to two monastries Cistercian abbey, Stična and Carthusian abbey, Bistra.
- 1688 – Admitted to the German Academy in Halle ‘Academia Naturae Curiosorum’ with the academic name Agesilaus.
- 1693 – Founding member of the Academia Operosorum Labacensium (Academy of the Industrious Residents of Ljubljana), serving as president 1712-1713. Given the academic name Intentus.
- Died March 9, 1718 in Ljubljana, Slovenija
Medical Eponyms
1717 – Gerbezius described two cases, presenting with extremely slow pulse rate and seizures. Both patients suffered from slow but regular pulses, dizziness, syncope, and occasional epileptic seizures. His careful observations of the bradyarrhythmia and seizures, were recorded in exacting detail.
Rarius tamen quid observaveram in duobus subjectis circa pulsum: nimirum quod unus eorum melancholico-hypochondriacus qua sanus communiter habuerit pulsum adeo tardum, ut priusquam subsequens pulsus consequebatur antecedentem, facile apud alium sanum tres pulsationes praeterierint…
…Vir alias erat robustus, et in actionibus accuratus; sed tardissimus, saepius vertiginosus, et subinde leviter insultibus epilepticis obnoxious.
The first patient had such a slow pulse that the pulse of a healthy person would beat three times before his pulse would beat for a second time.
The second patient was a strong and Meticulous man very sluggish, frequently dizzy, and from time to time subject to mild epileptic attacks.
Major Publications
- Gerbezius M. Pulsus mira inconstantia. Miscellanea curiosa, sive Ephemeridum medico-physicarum Germanicum Academiae Caesareo-Leopoldinae Naturae. Norimbergae 1692; 10: 115–118.
- Gerbezii M. Constitutio; anni 1717 a Dn. D. Marco Gerbezio Labaco 10 Decemb. descripta. Academiae Caesareo-Leopoldinae Naturae Curiosorum Ephemerides, 1719; [Appendix: 22–24]
Controversies
Alternate Names: Marko Grbec; Marko Gerbec; Marci Gerbezii; Marcus Gerbezius
References
Biography
- Grbec, Marko (1658–1718) Slovenska biografija
- Lüderitz B. Marcus Gerbezius (1658-1718). J Interv Card Electrophysiol. 2002;6(1):95.
Eponymous term
- Flaxman N. The history of heart-block. Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine. 1937; 5(2): 115-130
- Slavec ZZ, Neudauer U. Marcus Gerbezius (1658–1718) and his first description of a complete atrioventricular block. Zdravniški vestnik 2015; 84(12): 855-860
- Lippi D. Gerbezius’ Pulsus Mira Inconstantia and the First Descriptions of the Atrioventricular Block. Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics, 2018; 10(2): 179–1821
Eponym
the person behind the name