Early life Mascagni was born in the comune of
Pomarance (in the
Province of Pisa) to Aurelio Mascagni and Elisabetta Burroni, both belonging to old gentry families of Chiusdino (in the
Province of Siena). He studied philosophy and medicine at the
University of Siena. Upon graduating in 1777, renowned anatomist
Pietro Tabarrani took Mascagni as an assistant. Upon Tabarrani's death in 1780, Mascagni was appointed as an anatomy lecturer at the University of Siena.
Career As a young man, Mascagni was interested in geological sciences, as evidenced by his several papers on the
Lagoni (thermal springs) of
Siena and
Volterra. Upon graduation, he turned his interest to the human lymphatic system. His many discoveries in this field led to the composition and publication of
Vasorum lymphaticorum corporis humani historia et iconographia in 1787. In 1801, the Sardinian anatomist
Francesco Antonio Boi became a student of Mascagni. Mascagni and Boi entered into a close collaboration as well as a personal friendship. The anatomical waxes are held in the
Museo archeologico nazionale in
Cagliari.
Death Mascagni died of
sepsis in 1815. ==Legacy==