Adam Christian Thebesius, a historical perspective

The Silesian physician Adam Christian Thebesius (1686–1732) was one of the most renowned scientists studying the coronary circulation and its pathologies in the eighteenth century. His groundbreaking work opened the field of coronary microcirculation for generations of scientists to come. In 1708, Thebesius published his anatomical thesis, “Disputatio medica inauguralis de circulo sanguinis in corde”, describing the cardiac veins that emptied into chambers of the heart, the vasa cordis minima. He documented the small veins with their valves connecting the chambers of the heart with the coronary vessels. Thebesius is also known for his studies of the coronary sinus, namely, the valve of the coronary sinus, the Thebesian valve.