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How did Giovanni Battista Morgagni change the study of disease in 1761?

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Tuberculosis — disease A doctor examining chest X-rays of patients infected with tuberculosis, which remains one of the world's deadliest diseases.

In 1761, Italian anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni fundamentally transformed the study of disease by publishing his seminal work, De Sedibus et Causis Morborum per Anatomen Indagatis (The Seats and Causes of Diseases Investigated by Anatomy).12

Morgagni is recognized as a founder of morbid anatomy because he was the first to systematically demonstrate that diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment must be based on a comprehensive understanding of anatomical conditions. His work provided a detailed record of nearly 700 postmortem examinations, through which he attempted to correlate the physical findings observed after death with the clinical symptoms presented by patients during their lives.12

By bridging the gap between clinical observation and anatomical pathology, Morgagni helped establish pathological anatomy as an exact science, ensuring that the study of disease remained grounded in practical medical needs rather than becoming disconnected from clinical practice.1