Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654-1720) and the first historical investigation on pathology of sudden death

Abstract

Between 1705 and 1706, Rome experienced a series of sudden deaths, prompting Pope Clement XI to set up a commission to investigate the causes. Giovanni Maria Lancisi, a prominent physician, oversaw forensic autopsies and wrote “De subitaneis mortibus” (“On Sudden Deaths”, 1708), a groundbreaking treatise that examined death through a mechanistic lens, offering both theoretical and practical insights. Lancisi’s book presented life as a dynamic interaction of bodily fluids and systems, with death defined as the cessation of these movements. He proposed that sudden death is not rare but a natural endpoint when life-sustaining processes abruptly cease. The treatise identified various causes of sudden death, involving heart and vessels, and debunked fears of an ongoing epidemic in Rome. By analyzing cadaveric lesions, Lancisi demonstrated that these deaths were primarily due to pre-existing morbid conditions. His observations advanced the emerging field of pathological anatomy, applying scientific method on the study of sudden death.