The Science of Sylvius

By David Swatling

01-10-2001

Gin Martini - shaken not stirred In mid-17^th century Amsterdam, Dr Franciscus Sylvius was experimenting in search of an inexpensive diuretic to use in the treatment of kidney disorders. He mixed the oil of Juniper berries with grain alcohol - both of which he knew to have diuretic properties - and called his new medical concoction 'Genever'. English soldiers who were fighting in the Low Countries at the time were introduced to the inexpensive beverage, which they called 'Dutch courage'. They returned home with a taste for the new drink and shortened the name 'Genever' to Gin.

That story is probably apocryphal - a kind of 17^th century urban myth. But Dr Sylvius was a very important figure in what we now call the Scientific Revolution. His family had fled the southern Low Countries during the war against Spain, so Sylvius was actually born in Hanau, Germany in 1614. He pursued the study of medicine at several northern

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European schools, gaining his degree at the University of Basel, then settling at the age of 24 at the University of Leiden.

Professional Prospects
After a few years, however, he became discontent with his position as an unsalaried lecturer with no prospect of a professorship, so Sylvius decided to move to Amsterdam and open a private practice. He was preceded by his fame in anatomy, particularly anatomy of the brain. In fact, before leaving Leiden in 1641, he Aqueduct of Sylvius had discovered the deep cleft separating the temporal, frontal and parietal lobes of the brain, which is still known today as the Sylvian fissure (also known as the Aqueduct of Sylvias).

Then, in 1658, he was offered twice the usual salary to return to Leiden University as the professor of practical medicine. Sylvius couldn't refuse and bought a house on the Rapenburg Canal - the centre of elite cultural life in Leiden. Not only did the large two-storey house cost the exorbitant sum (for the time) of over 10,000 guilders, he had it completely renovated to the latest fashions in home design and had three rooms specially designed to be used as chemical laboratories.

A Matter of Taste
Among the many famous students of Sylvius was Reinier de Graaf, Niels Stensen from Denmark, who discovered the excretory duct of the saliva glands, and the Scotsman Robert Sibbald, founder of Edinburgh's College of Physicians. De Graaf's ground-breaking work involved tapping pancreatic juice from a living dog through a fistula connected to the pancreas. The acidity of the juice was then tested by tasting it. Gaining knowledge by actively using the senses was a new development in medical science as were the hospital rounds he made with his students.

Reinier de Graaf "I have introduced my students to medical practice by taking them with me daily to the public infirmary, to visit my patients. I have let them hear the sufferers' complaints and shown them which symptoms they displayed. I then asked them with what diseases they thought these people were afflicted, how they arrived at their diagnosis, what the cause of the illness might be and to indicate a suitable treatment. And on the occasions where they disagreed, I asked them to quietly defend their view, using reasonable arguments, leaving them free to make any point, so long as it was well-founded. Then, eventually, I would advance or add my own opinion."

Continuing The Memory
1669 might be considered the best and worst year of Dr Sylvius's life. In February he was appointed Rector Magnificus, or vice-chancellor of the University, but the following month his young second wife died shortly after giving birth to his daughter. Dr Fransiscus Sylvius That summer a plague struck Leiden, claiming the life of his infant child. Sylvius attempted to study the disease, which killed nearly half of the University faculty, forcing it to close temporarily.

Sylvius himself became gravely ill, but recovered with the help of mineral water from Spa. Afterwards he focused on writing his ‘Praxeos Medica Idea Nova', or ‘New Idea in Medicine', but was only able to complete the first volume before his death in 1672 at the age of 58. It was then left to Sylvius's many loyal students to spread his ‘new ideas' throughout Europe.

Leiden University's medical laboratory is now named after Sylvius, as is a brand new computer program for studying the brain making a rather fitting memorial for the great physician.

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Tags: Fransiscus Sylvius, gin, Leiden University, netherlands