vesalius

• • Vesalius published a book called The Fabric of the Human Body
  • the book depicted drawings of muscles, organs and skeletons based on dissection
  • he dissected executed criminals which allowed him to understand human anatomy
  • his book allowed physicians to learn about human anatomy through his illustrations
  • it also proved that Galen's teachings were wrong
• • Galen said that the heart was divided by a septum that had holes to allow blood to pass through
  • Vesalius showed that the septum did not have holes in it
• • Galen said that the liver had five lobes
  • Vesalius showed that the liver did not have any lobes
• • Galen said that the lower jaw was made up of two bones
  • Vesalisus showed that the jaw of pigs and monkeys had two bones, but for humans, it was a single bone
• • Galen said that the sternum had seven parts
  • Vesalius showed that the sternum only had three parts
• his discoveries:

  • Vesalius used the bodies of dead criminals to perform dissections
  • this allowed him to identify every bone, organ and muscle in the human body
  • he was a professor at university and encouraged his own students to perform their own dissections
  • this was different fro the traditional method of just watching demonstrations to now performing personal experiments
• his impacts and limitations:

  • Vesalius published his book which challenged Galen, and the book was spread with the invention of the printing press
  • it allowed him to prove Galen wrong about anatomy, which may suggest he was wrong about illness and the Four Humours
  • however, people were relucant to believe Vesalius
  • physicians did not know how to use his book as a guide, so could not do much with his information
  • in England, his work was appreciated
  • within two years, Vesalius' illustrations were copped in a new book 'Compendiasa'
  • the new book was popular and used by barber surgeons
• • Vesalisus made studying anatomy more acceptable, and soon became a central part of medicine
  • doctors carried out dissections themselves, rather than a surgeon
  • he caused controversy through criticising Galen - people said that the differences Vesalius had found had been caused by changes in the body since the time of Galen
  • he inspired other anatomists who even went on to correct his own mistakes
  • after he died, his work was used to discover valves in human veins, and was taught to William Harvey who discovered the circulation of the blood