THE CLASSIC

Abstract

Antonio Scarpa (1752–1832) was born near Venice. He attended medical school in Padua, receiving his degree at the age of 18! While in Padua, he was strongly influenced by Morgagni. At the age of 20, Scarpa became professor of anatomy and theoretical surgery at Modena. Ten years later, he moved to Pavia as professor of anatomy, becoming professor of surgery also in 1787. He was a brilliant anatomist who had extraordinary skills as an artist that enabled him to illustrate his own works. He traveled widely in Europe and spoke several languages fluently. Although he is remembered for his anatomic eponyms (eg, Scarpa's fascia, Scarpa's triangle), he should be remembered also as an outstanding surgeon for his operations for vascular disease. In Italy, he is considered to be the father of ophthalmology. Scarpa's memoir on congenital clubfeet, The Classic article, showed his many-sided character. It combines a thorough review of the foreign literature with a description of the anatomy of the condition and an exposition of a successful method of treatment. It is worth noting that Scarpa's conception of the underlying pathology of congenital clubfoot was the beginning of our understanding of this deformity.