Murder and Wirsung's Duct 1642 – A Mysterious Organ and a Mysterious Discovery

Pancreatic surgeons John Howard and Walter Hess write: "The discovery of the pancreatic duct in Padua by the German (Johann Georg) Wirsung was to prove one of the greatest milestones in the history of our knowledge of the pancreas and indeed proved a turning point in the history of medicine." Discovered by anatomist Johann Wirsung in 1642 while dissecting the body of a murderer, the pancreatic duct joins the pancreas to the common bile duct, and together these two ducts empty their contents into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. Also called Wirsung's duct in his honor, it is the tube through which pancreatic enzymes flow to help digest food.

The pancreas has always been something of a mystery to doctors. Although Wirsung was uncertain about the purpose of his duct, the finding was important because it established the pancreas's role as a fluid-secreting gland. Rather than publishing his discovery, Wirsung sent drawings to European anatomists for their comments. A year later, Wirsung was shot and killed while talking with neighbors near his home. His mentor, anatomist Johann Wesling, was accused of the crime because he was said to be jealous of Wirsung's discovery. However, Wesling was acquitted, and many conflicting accounts of the assassin's identity remain in history books today.

Some accounts suggest that medical student Moritz Hoffmann, who was present at Wirsung's famous dissection, was his killer. Five years after Wirsung's murder, Hoffmann claimed that he had discovered Wirsung's duct in a turkey a year before Wirsung's human dissection. He also claimed to have informed Wirsung of the finding. However, the most likely suspect is Giacomo Cambier. Just a week before the assassination, Cambier had been forced to resign as Prosecutor of the German Nation of Artists because of "doubts about his character," and Wirsung had been involved in the decision.

Description of the article image: The pancreatic duct (the central brown-orange tube in the yellowish pancreas) joins the pancreas to the common bile duct (green tube), and together the two ducts empty their contents into the duodenum (the brown tube on the left).

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Johann Georg Wirsung (1589–1643), Johann Wesling (1598– 1649), Moritz Hoffmann (1622–1698)

• Previous topic: William Harvey 1628 – The First Person to Describe Blood Circulation Correctly
• Next topic: The Lymphatic System 1652 – Both Alarm and Defense