Disertori B, Piazza M
Ann Osp Maria Vittoria Torino. 1981 Jan-Jun;24(1-6):178-209.
The A.A. insert the life and work of the naturalist and chemist Felice Fontana, born in Pomarolo (Trentino), in the frame of 18th century sciences, beside other great names of that century like Carolus Linnaeus, Réaumur, von Haller, Spallanzani, Morgagni, Priestley and Lavoisier. In the field of general biology, the discovery of nucleus and nucleolus and consequently the discovery of the eukaryotic cell, as we say in our days, in his, as well as the one of anabiosis. The A.A. enucleate and analyse the contributions of Fontana to the neurosciences; he has discovered the axon and the myelinic sheath half century before Remak and Purknije; he found out that the white matter of the brain is made of fibres alike those of nerves and the grey matter is made of globules (i.e. cells) mixed up with fibres; he discovered in the retina a part of coming out from the brain; he described the transversal bands of fibres of the skeletal muscles; he was the first to introduce into physiology the law of "all and nothing"; he attributed the irritability to the whole animal life; he identified the pupillar reflexes to the light, the reflex of accommodation, the consensual reflex, the psycho-emotive mydriasis and at last the myosis of sleep. He made experimental searches about nerves and recognised their regeneration, he enumerated various pathological intracranial masses, he made an important anatomopathological research about hydatid cyst in the brain of the sheep affected by "capostorno" and madness, he demonstrated their parasitical nature (he said that the hydated cysts were covered inside by small animals), he come out to formulate the hypothesis that some neuropsychiatric diseases of man can depend from similar aetiology. He declared that passions may have pathological effects (psyco-somatic aetiology), but he has also drawned the attention against the danager of aprioristical generalisation of neurogenical causes in all diseases. The A.A. give to Fontana the palm of precursor of modern neurosciences and of neurology intended as synthesis and unified corpus of these sciences.
作者将博物学家兼化学家费利切·丰塔纳（生于波马罗洛（特伦蒂诺））的生平与著作置于18世纪科学的框架内，与那个世纪的其他伟大人物如卡罗勒斯·林奈、雷奥米尔、冯·哈勒、斯帕兰扎尼、莫尔加尼、普里斯特利和拉瓦锡相提并论。在普通生物学领域，他发现了细胞核和核仁，从而发现了真核细胞，就像我们如今所说的那样，以及发现了复苏现象。作者阐明并分析了丰塔纳对神经科学的贡献；他比雷马克和普尔基涅早半个世纪发现了轴突和髓鞘；他发现大脑的白质由与神经相似的纤维组成，灰质由与纤维混合的小球（即细胞）组成；他在视网膜中发现了一部分从大脑发出的结构；他描述了骨骼肌纤维的横向带；他是第一个将“全或无”定律引入生理学的人；他将兴奋性归因于整个动物生命；他确定了瞳孔对光反射、调节反射、同感性反射、精神情绪性瞳孔散大以及最后的睡眠性瞳孔缩小。他对神经进行了实验研究并认识到它们的再生，他列举了各种病理性颅内肿块，他对感染“卡波斯托诺”和疯癫的绵羊大脑中的包虫囊肿进行了重要的解剖病理学研究，他证明了它们的寄生性质（他说包虫囊肿内部覆盖着小动物），他进而提出假说，认为人类的一些神经精神疾病可能取决于类似的病因。他宣称激情可能有病理作用（身心病因），但他也提醒人们注意在所有疾病中对神经源性病因进行先验性普遍化的危险。作者授予丰塔纳现代神经科学和作为这些科学的综合与统一体系的神经病学先驱的荣誉。
