Niccolò Massa

Niccolò Massa (; 1485–1569) was an Italian anatomist who wrote an early anatomy text Anatomiae Libri Introductorius in 1536. In 1536 he described the cerebrospinal fluid.

Massa graduated from the Venetian College of Physicians with a degree in surgery in 1515 and then with a degree in medicine in 1521. He lived and practice medicine in Venice his entire life and was one of the most widely respected physicians of the early sixteenth century. IN 1524 he was appointed physician to the Scuola di S. Giorgio, and the nunnery of the Sepulchre. Massa taught, examined candidates and served as Consigliere for the Venetian College of Surgeons as well.

Massa was the author of several works beginning with a book on the French Disease which is commonly equated to modern day syphilis in 1524, Liber morbo gallico which went through several editions. This was followed by a book on anatomy, Anatomiae Libri Introductorius, a book on fevers, the Liber de febre pestilentiali, a work in Italian, the La loica, divisa in sette libri, and a collection of his letters, Epistolae medicinales Printed collections of letters from physicians was a popular genre in the sixteenth century. The letter tended to be written diagnosis and treatment advice, but they touched on a variety of topics. Massa mentioned important topics and figures of his day, including offering his opinion of Andreas Vesalius's Fabrica. Massa wrote two more books, Raggionamento ... sopra le infermitia che vengono dall'aere pestilentiale del presente anno MDL and Diligens examen de venaesectione in febribus ex humorum putredine ortis, the last published just a year before he died.

Massa was a regular dissector of bodies and performed dissections both to study anatomy and to understand the causes of diseases like Syphilis. He was respected enough to have several books dedicated to him. Like many well-known physicians of his day he is less well-known today because his name is not associated with the discovery of any modern medical fact.

Family life Massa was the child of Apollonio Massa and Franceschina Danese. His parents had six sons and three daughters including himself. The one element common to all is air and Massa concluded that it was responsible. This disease, in Massa's eyes, was caused by an occurrence of warm and damp weather of which corrupted the air. He determined that this disease was spread by the sick through the air and taken in by breathing this corrupted air. Massa advised that isolation as well as deep sanitation of the city was necessary to halter the spread of this disease. Massa reported these findings in his book Liber Introductorius Anatomiae. In his book he described finding a large amount of fluid between cerebral ventricles. This fluid is known now to be cerebrospinal fluid. This major discovery is considered an important milestone in the history of medicine.