The caudate lobe described by Adriaan van den Spiegel
Adriaan van den Spiegel [1578–1625] was born in the Flemish city of Brussels. He studied medicine in Louvain (Belgium) and Leiden (The Netherlands) and early on showed a keen interest in anatomical dissections (1). Also known as ‘Spigelius’ in Latin, he was appointed professor of dissection and surgery at the famous medical faculty of the University of Padua in Italy.
In Padua, van den Spiegel published an anatomical atlas in 1627, containing anatomical plates, many of which were derived from an atlas compiled by his predecessor, the anatomist Giulio Casseri [1552–1616] (2). Van den Spiegel was the first to describe in his atlas, a small lobe situated at the backside of the liver, that from then on was referred to as Spiegel’s lobe (lobus Spigelli). The particular illustration of the liver in his atlas shows the liver in a reversed position, with the fundus of the gallbladder (E) turned downwards and Spiegel’s lobe (M) in front of the caval vein (C). Although the lobe was depicted on the same plate in the earlier book by Casseri, the lobe became eponymously attached to Van den Spiegel. Later on, Spiegel’s lobe was termed the caudate lobe (lobus caudatus) by anatomists, and defined as ‘segment 1’ by the French surgeon-anatomist, Claude Couinaud.
Adriaan van den Spiegel died in 1625 from a septic condition. At autopsy, an intra-abdominal abscess was found, ironically adjacent to the caudate lobe, the lobe he had described and that bore his name, Spiegel’s lobe.
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References
- van de Spiegel A. De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Decem. Frankfurt 1632, Wellcome Collection, L0032415.
- Ghosh SK, Sharma S, Biswas S, et al. Adriaan van den Spiegel (1578-1625): anatomist, physician, and botanist. Clin Anat 2014;27:952-7. [Crossref] [PubMed]
