Andreas Vesalius

• Andreas Vesalius


  An important figure in the history of medical progress
• Andreas Vesalius was born

  1514
• Andreas Vesalius died


  1564
• Andreas Vesalius


  • Made great advances in the understanding of anatomy, the structure of the human body
  • Proved that some of Galen's work on anatomy was wrong
• Before Vesalius, Galen's work on anatomy had been accepted basically without question
• Galen was only able to dissect animals, not humans
• Vesalius


  Became professor of medicine at Padua University in Italy in 1537
• Vesalius insisted that his medical students should perform human dissections themselves rather than just watching
• Human dissection was still usually illegal at this time
• A local judge gave Vesalius permission to dissect the bodies of executed criminals
• Vesalius's book "The Fabric of the Human Body"


  Published in 1543, contained accurate drawings of the human body drawn by professional artists
• Vesalius's book was widely seen and available due to the use of printing technology
• Vesalius


  • Proved some of Galen's work was wrong
  • Encouraged others to challenge old ways of thinking
• Diagrams in "The Fabric of the Human Body"


  • Diagram of musculature showing how tendons attach muscles to bones
  • Naturalistic, realistic drawings based on real human dissections
• Vesalius's discoveries and achievements

  • Improved upon Galen's ideas and proved Galen was sometimes wrong
  • Dissected bodies and produced accurate drawings and diagrams showing anatomy
  • Used scientific methods by getting permission to perform dissections on human bodies
• Vesalius was able to suggest the reasons why Galen had made some mistakes
• Vesalius's ideas were shared and further tested and proved by others at the University of Padua
• Factors that helped Vesalius


  • Printing technology made his book widely available
  • Government judges in Padua allowed the dissection of criminals
  • Vesalius's own individual genius
• Throughout the Middle Ages, Galen's work had been accepted pretty well without question
• Vesalius's work, through scientific inquiry, proved that Galen had made mistakes
• Vesalius's work did not actually make people any healthier
• Vesalius used advances in Renaissance art and printing to produce books showing accurate human anatomy
• Vesalius's work inspired later individuals like William Harvey