Hi!

Hello everyone! My name is Paige Donaghy, and I'm a first year PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, in Australia. My thesis research looks at the history of the false conception, also called a mola, mole or "mooncalf", in English and European medicine across the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries. False conceptions were lumps of flesh said to be gestated in women's wombs instead of foetuses, but which showed the same signs as "true" conception. Medical writers often debated whether this fleshy lump was alive, and if so, whether this life could be called "human". In case you're wondering what this might have looked like, there's a drawing of a mola in Maria Conforti's reading materials, which I'm very excited about!

Looking forward to meeting everyone on Ischia!

Hi Paige, I'm so glad to know that you're working on mola! I've been working on it too (that's why I choose the image) and I'll be happy to share thoughts and discussions with you - aside from our seminar. It's such an interesting subject, and it can be seen from so many different angles. Unfortunately', I've written an article in Italian on a spectacular case of mola in Rome in the late 17th century, but I'll manage to go with you through it, should you be unable to read it
best, Maria