Giovan Battista Agus
Correspondence: Giovan Battista Agus, e-mail: giovanni.agus@unimi.it
Clinical and scientific data confirm that veins and lymphatics are inseparable in a one veno-lymphatic system. Evidently both the venous and lymphatic circulation, in parallel, return fluid to the blood circulation, one would not exist without the other. Lymphology is developing fast and cannot exist without phlebology even if most of phlebologists tend to ignore this unintentionally. For V&L it is therefore appropriate to start a new little section with a peculiar culture and history image of medicine regarding this subject.
Without going back to the Italian Gaspare Aselli with his De lactibus sive lacteis venis, quarto vasorum mesaraicorum genere, novo invento, in the 2017 we can remember Il Sistema linfatico nella pratica clinica by Ippolito Donini with his mentor Mario Battezzati published 50 years ago (1967) (Figure 1 and 2). Ippolito Donini founded the Italian Society of Phlebolymphology opening new perspective in both fields. Only recently in the US we assisted to the change of name of an American specialty board from phlebology to venous and lymphatic medicine.
Figure 1. Prof Ippolito Donini, Chairman Clinica Chirurgica University of Ferrara, Italy from 1970 to 1999.
Figure 2. Cover of the Italian edition of The Lymphatic System in Clinical Practice. Padua: Piccin Ed.; 1967.
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