Andreas Vesalius

Who was Vesalius?

Andreas Vesalius was a Belgian physician. He trained at the universities of Louvain, Paris and Padua.

How did Vesalius make new discoveries?

Vesalius made many discoveries through dissection and by recording his discoveries in anatomical drawings. He stole bodies from cemeteries and gallows to dissect them, as well as dissecting the corpses of criminals.

What did Vesalius discover?

He identified approximately 300 mistakes in Galen's work, including that:

• ❖ The human jawbone is formed from a single part, not two.
• ❖ Women do not have one more pair of ribs than men do.
• ❖ The human breast bone does not have 7 parts; it has 3 parts.

Why was Vesalius controversial?

Vesalius used dissections to show how Galen's understanding of the human body was incorrect. This subsequently lost Vesalius his job at the university.

What was Vesalius's famous book?

Vesalius is most famous because of his book 'On the Fabric of the Human Body' which was published in 1543. The drawings of human anatomy in the book were exceptionally detailed.

Why was Vesalius significant?

Vesalius was very important for Renaissance medicine for 4 main reasons.

• ❖ His work encouraged other doctors to question the old medical books and to learn through first-hand experience by performing dissections.
• ❖ His studies of the circulatory system were an important contribution to the understanding that the heart acts as a pump.
• ❖ The illustrations in 'On the Fabric of the Human Body' were copied and inserted into other books.
• ❖ Others were able to develop his work into the human anatomy further, because he provided the detailed ground work.

How was Vesalius's work brought to England?

Vesalius's work was transformed into a new book by Thomas Geminus called the 'Compendiosa'. All of his illustrations were copied and paired with surgical knowledge. This book became popular in England and was used by barber-surgeons.