His best written work on anatomy is
De humani corporis fabrica libri X tabulis aere icisis exornati, published posthumously in 1627. He borrowed the title from
De humani corporis fabrica, written by his fellow countryman,
Vesalius, who had also studied in Padua. The book was intended as an update in medical thinking (a century later) about anatomy. In his 1624 treatise
De semitertiana libri quatuor, he gave the first comprehensive description of
malaria. His name is given to the
Spigelian line (
linea semilunaris) and the Spigelian fascia, which refers either to the combined
aponeuroses of the
external abdominal oblique muscle, the
internal abdominal oblique muscle and
transversus abdominis muscle, or just the aponeurosis of the transversus abdominis. An uncommon
hernia of the Spigelian fascia that he first described is called a "
Spigelian hernia". The
caudate lobe of the
liver is also known as
Spiegel's lobe. Spiegel also did work as a
botanist. The genus
Spigelia (containing about 60 species) is named after him. Traditionally, the
rhizome and roots of
Spigelia marilandica were used as a cure for
intestinal parasites. ==References==