Carlo Forlanini

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Carlo Forlanini (1847-1918) was an Italian physician. In 1870 he earned his medical degree from the University of Pavia, and afterwards joined the staff of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. Later he was an instructor at the Universities of Turin (1884) and Pavia (1899). In 1900 he became a professor of clinical medicine in Pavia. Today the "Carlo Forlanini Institute" in Rome is named in his honor. He was the older brother of aviation pioneer Enrico Forlanini (1848-1930).

Carlo Forlanini was a specialist regarding tuberculosis and respiratory disorders. He realized that the difficulty in curing pulmonary tuberculosis was due to the lungs being in a constant state of expansion and reduction, and when this action is removed, the "static lung" would be similar to other visceral organs, and from that moment the healing process could take place. In the 1880s he devised an artificial pneumothorax for therapeutic treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Basically, this apparatus introduced air into the lung by a special sterilized needle connected to a water manometer for accurate measurement of pressure and volume.