Giuseppe Dagnini (1866-1928): Discoverer of the Trigemino-Cardiac Reflex and Practical Implications in Neurosurgery and other Medical Specialties.

The authors present the life and art of Giuseppe Dagnini, a renowned Italian physician who was born in Bologna in 1866. He was the chief of the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna and authored valuable scientific works on the trigeminal cardiac reflex (TCR) which is still applied in modern clinical practice. Dr. Dagnini firstly described the reflex in 1908 postulating that stimulation of one of the three branches of the trigeminal nerve triggers the afferent pathway in lowering heart rate. The authors also provide a modern outlook on the clinical implications of the TCR in neurosurgery, neuro-anesthesia, and other medical specialties.