Historical heritage: abdominoscopy in the early 20th century

This historical study examines the contribution of Calabrian surgeon Gino Iannelli to the development of endoscopic surgery through his abdominoscopy technique, based on a recently discovered twelve-page manuscript. Operating in the first half of the 20th century in a small hospital in Cetraro, Southern Italy, Iannelli independently developed a method for exploring the peritoneal cavity using gas insufflation and endoscopic visualization under local anesthesia. Notably, his technique included the use of the instrument's tip as a palpator for diagnosing cholelithiasis and other abdominal pathologies, potentially avoiding the significant mortality risk associated with exploratory laparotomy in that era. The manuscript was discovered by his grandson, G. P., MD, during digitalization of Iannelli's medical library. Comparative analysis with the pioneering works of Georg Kelling (1901) and Hans Christian Jacobaeus (1910) reveals striking technical similarities, while also highlighting the scientific isolation that characterized peripheral Italian medicine of that era. This work aims to reconstruct the biographical and historical-medical context in which Iannelli operated and to reassess his contribution to the birth of diagnostic laparoscopy, representing a paradigmatic case of parallel scientific discovery in conditions of geographic and cultural isolation.