Leonardo Botallo

Life & Legacy

Leonardo Botallo or Leonardi Botalli Astensis in Latin (1530 – c. 1587) was an Italian anatomist who is remembered in the eponymous foramen Botalli which allows blood in the fetal heart of humans to move from the left to the right atrium and the ductus Botalli connecting the pulmonary artery to the proximal descending aorta although both are now thought to be incorrectly attributed to him as these were added in posthumous editions of his work. He published several treatises including De curandis vulneribus sclopettorum (1560) which examined gunshot wounds and questioned the contemporary theory that gunshot wounds were to be treated as if they were poisoned.