[Adam Christian Thebesius (1686-1732) and the discovery of the Vasa Cordis Minima].

In first years of the 18th century, Raymond Vieussens (1635-1713) and Adam Christian Thebesius (1686-1732) discovered the Vasa cordis minima, today known as Vasa Thebesii; in 1868, Odilon Marc Lannelongue (1840-1911) described the so-called crypts of Lannelongue in the right atrium. The present study gives a historical survey over the research on the cardiac vascularization before 1700 and presents these three authors and their works on the Thebesian vessels with a biographical introduction and a commented translation. As for the biography of the Silesian anatomist Thebesius large, mostly inedited materials from Polish archives and from family archives were studied, among them, poems, a handwritten biography and a pedigree of the family. A schedule tables the studies and articles on the Thebesian vessels and the Thebesian valve published since 1708. As a commentary to the bibliography, the present stage of knowledge on the Thebesian vessels is shortly summarized. Although a compensatory function of the Thebesian vessels in coronary sclerosis and other pathological conditions has been discussed repeatedly, methodical difficulties still do not allow a reliable judgement on the role of the Thebesian vessels in physiological and pathological conditions. This study shows the contradictory results and summarizes all statements which have been published on the embryology, comparative anatomy, macroscopical and (electron-)microscopical anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and cardio-surgery. The aim is to encourage an interdiscplinary discussion on the base of the thorough literature study.