[The dentistry of Adriaan van den Spiegel from Brussels (1578-1625-1978)]

Spigelius, born in Brussels in 1578 (as Harvey, his fellow, student in Italy) was the last great anatomist of the school of Padua. After his death in 1625 his disciple, Brucetius and his son-in-law, Liberalis Crema, published two years later his "Anatomy" and his "Embryology", illustrated with beautiful plates bought from the heirs of his master Casserio (1561-1619). The sinus maxillaris and the odontology of Eustachius are only mentioned in De humani corporis Fabrica libri X, not in De formato Foetu liber singularis. In order to appreciate the normality of the head he described four diameters of the skull and has been considered by Topinard as the father of craniometry. He also mentions the changes in the proportions of the body during growth and the effects of illness upon growth. His theory and practice of oral surgery are those of his master Fabrizio ab Aquapendente (1533-1619) and of his pupil Scultetus (1595-1648).