Sanctorius

Sanctorius (săngktôr`ēəs), Ital. Santorio, 1561–1636, Italian physiologist. He was a professor at Padua (1611–24). By his quantitative experiments in temperature, respiration, and weight, he measured what he called "insensible perspiration" and laid the foundation for the study of metabolism. Among the instruments that he designed was a clinical thermometer. He wrote De statica medicina (1614; tr. 5th ed. 1737).