Paul Zacchias

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Paul Zacchias
Portrait of Paul Zacchias
Born	1584 Rome, Lazio, Italy
Died	21 March 1659(1659-03-21) (aged 74–75) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Education	Sapienza University of Rome (M.D., about 1608)
Known for	Quaestiones medico-legales, 1621-35 on legal medicine
Scientific career
Fields	Medicine Medical jurisprudence
Doctoral advisor	Marsilio Cagnati

Paul Zacchias or Paolo Zacchia (1584-1659) was an Italian physician, teacher of medical science, forensic medicine, medico-legal jurist, philosopher, and poet. He is said to have been personal physician to Pope Innocentius X and Pope Alexander VII.^[1][2] Zacchias was also legal adviser to the Rota Romana, the highest Papal court of appeals,^[3] and head of the medical system in the Papal States. His most well known book in three volumes, Quaestiones medico-legales (1621-1651) established legal medicine as a topic of study.^[1][4][5]

Zacchias work also contains superstitious views on magic, witches, and demons which were widely held at the time.^[3] At the time, both theological and medical knowledge was required to differentiate natural cases of sickness from supernatural causes which might require attention of the Catholic church.^[2] Zacchias was known for a skeptical approach that attempted to eliminate natural causes before diagnosing phenomena as witchcraft. Medical practitioners at his time were also made available to diagnose and assess between miracles and natural causes.^[2]

He is known to have argued that minors make proper test subjects to be put to torture.^[5] Despite these views, Zacchias is seen to have notably progressed the works of jurisprudence in medicine of the time period.