Nicolaus Steno

Steno, Nicolaus 

Born Jan. 10, 1638, in Copenhagen; died Nov. 25,1686, in Schwerin. Danish naturalist.

Steno studied at the University of Copenhagen (he did not graduate) and in Amsterdam. He worked in Holland and Italy (Florence). In his study of human anatomy, Steno discovered the duct of the parotid gland (1660). He described the structure of muscles as consisting of longitudinal fibers and made an attempt to explain the mechanical process of muscular contraction (1664). In 1667, Steno established the similarity between the mammalian ovary and the ovary of oviparous animals.

Steno also made contributions to the sciences of crystallography and geology. He established the law of the invariance of crystal angles (Steno’s law) and described the crystals of diamond, quartz, and marcasite. Steno’s name is also associated with the law of the sequence of rock deposition: he showed that the inclined position of the strata of sedimentary rocks is a consequence of tectonic destruction, and he recognized the significance of unconformities.

REFERENCES

Belousov, V. V. “Nikolaus Steno—osnovopolozhnik geotektoniki.” Priroda, 1938, issue 5.
Shafranovskii, I. I. Nikolai Stenon — kristallograf, geolog, paleonto-log, anatom. Leningrad, 1972.
Eyles, V. A. “Nicolaus Steno, Seventeenth-century Anatomist, Geologist and Ecclesiastic.” Nature, 1954, vol. 174, issue 4418.