Inclusive Anatomy
Historical Timeline
1500
1575
Ambroise Paré
Ambroise Paré (1510-1590) noted the presence of the greater vestibular glands in his book, “De la generation de l’ Homme.”[1]
1621
Francesco Plazzoni
Francesco Plazzoni described the presence of these glands in his book De Partibus Generationi.[2]
1672
Reinier de Graaf
Reinier de Graaf characterized the paraurethral ducts in females as the pathway through which lubricating fluid exits, enhancing arousal at the introitus in his work De Mulierum Organis Inservientibus. He coined the term "Mulierum Prostatae" for these glands.[3]
1676
Joseph Duverney
Joseph Duverney (1648-1730) provided the first detailed description of these glands in cattle which he referred to as ‘vulvovaginal glands’ in his work Quevres anatomiques.[1]
1677
Caspar Bartholin the Younger
Caspar Bartholin the Younger (1655-1738) described the greater vestibular glands and clarified their anatomical features, location, and role in female reproductive health.[1]
Present
Eponym:
The greater vestibular glands are commonly referred to as Bartholin’s glands, an eponym attributed to Caspar Bartholin the Younger (1655–1738), a Danish physician and anatomist.[4] Bartholin was born in Copenhagen and began his medical studies in 1671. In 1674, at the age of nineteen, he was appointed professor of philosophy by King Christian V of Denmark. In 1678, his father, Thomas Bartholin, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Medicine.[4] Bartholin later left academic medicine to pursue a career in public service, becoming Procurator General in 1719 and Deputy of Finance in 1724.[4]
Although Bartholin described the glands in humans, historical evidence indicates that earlier anatomists, including Paré, Plazzoni, de Graaf, and Duverney, had already identified or characterized these structures. Bartholin himself reportedly acknowledged this in correspondence, yet the eponym “Bartholin’s glands” became established in medical literature through historical misattribution rather than priority of discovery.[1]
Scientific Contributions:
Caspar Bartholin the Younger demonstrated exceptional scholarly ability at a young age, publishing Dissertatio de Cygni Anatomia (A Dissertation on the Anatomy of the Swan) at the age of thirteen.[5] His most significant anatomical contributions arose from methodical dissections of animals, particularly cattle, through which he described structures later identified in humans.[5] Bartholin suggested that glands identified in animals might also exist in human females, a hypothesis later supported by anatomical observation. His work De Ovariis Mulierum et Generationis Historia (1677) contributed to the early understanding of female reproductive anatomy.[5] Inflammation of the greater vestibular glands is known as bartholinitis, while ductal obstruction may result in a Bartholin cyst or Bartholin abscess. Bartholin is also associated with the description of the greater sublingual salivary duct, which occasionally bears his name.[5]
Caspar Bartholin the Younger - Image Obtained From: Wellcome Collection, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
References
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Plazzoni F. De partibus generationi inservientibus. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/fine-printed-books-manuscripts-including-americana/de-partibus-generationi-inservientibus-106/195437
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De Graaf R. De mulierum organis generationi inservientibus tractatus novus. Lugduni Batavorum: Ex officina Hackiana; 1672. http://archive.org/details/BIUSante_34292
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van den Tweel JG. Bartholin, Caspar (1655–1738). In: van Krieken JHJM, ed. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer International Publishing; 2017:1-2. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_3954-1
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Hill RV. The contributions of the Bartholin family to the study and practice of clinical anatomy. Clin Anat. 2007;20(2):113-115. doi:10.1002/ca.20355
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Lee MY, Dalpiaz A, Schwamb R, Miao Y, Waltzer WC, Khan A. Clinical pathology of Bartholin’s glands: a review of the literature. Curr Urol. 2015;8(1):22-25. doi:10.1159/000365683
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