[The death of Ignatius Loyola].

A recent examination of a bilioportal fistula led us to suspect a link between this case and the death of Ignatius of Loyola. Realdo Colombo, professor of anatomy, eviscerated Ignatius prior to his embalming In his book De re anatomica, published in 1559, he wrote that he extracted stones from the portal vein of the venerable Ignatius. Before his death, Ignatius suffered from epigastric pain and fever (Monumenta historica societatis Jesu). Colombo latin text is difficult to interpret and the data are meager. Other possible causes of Ignatius' death include gastroduodenal ulcer, tuberculosis and hyperparathyroidism, but despite of rarity bilioportal fistula is the best guess.