It was when the more fashionable doctors in Italy, in imitation of the old Romans, despising the work of the hand, began to delegate to slaves the manual attentions they deemed necessary for their patients ... that the art of medicine went to ruin.

     - Andreas Vesalius

     - De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543)


       In 1543 two epochs in the history of science were published: Nicholas Copernicus' (1473-1543) De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, which presented observations in favor of the heliocentric theory of the universe (solar system); and Andreas Vesalius' (1514-1564) De Humani Corporis Fabrica, the first modern anatomical atlas. Thus the year 1543 is often denoted as the beginning of the "Scientific Revolution" which ended in 1687 with the publication of Newton's Principia. Therefore, anatomy, along with astronomy and optics, played a key role in the Renaissance, the revival of art, literature and learning in Western Civilization. In the four and a half centuries since the publication of De Revolutionibus and Fabrica, astronomy has continued to flourish (witness Hubble, Pathfinder and Sojourner) while in the United States it is no longer possible to obtain a degree in Anatomy. [It should be noted, however, that things were not always so smooth for astronomy. Copernicus' book was officially banned by the Church in 1616 and was not removed from its Index of Forbidden Books until 1835.]

       At the start of the academic year it is proper that we begin with a quote from the founder of modern anatomy, Andreas Vesalius. Vesalius (né Andries van Wesel) was born in Brussels on New Year's Eve 1514 into a prominent Flemish medical family. After attending the University of Louvain, he began his medical education at the University of Paris where he learned anatomy under Sylvius and Gunther. At the outbreak of war he returned to the University of Louvain where he completed his medical studies and re-introduced the practice of human dissections. In 1537 he moved to Padua (the premier medical school of its day), took and passed the University's exam for Doctor of Medicine and then assumed the position of Professor of Surgery (at age 24), which entailed the teaching of anatomy.

       Vesalius' basic reform as the founder of modern anatomy was to do away with demonstrators and ostensors and put his own hand to dissection. By doing so, he replaced reliance on established authority with observation and illustration as the primary method of anatomy. The result was the beginning of a vastly improved human anatomy. Vesalius also insisted students should learn anatomy by doing their own dissections, a tradition which continues to this day (at least for now).

       In 1543, at age 28, Vesalius published his anatomical magnus opus, De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septum, and its companion volume, Epitome, the latter intended for non-physicians. While some of the wood cuts were done by Vesalius himself, most were the work of various students in Titian's (Tizano Vercellio, c. 1482 - 1576) studio, principally Jan Stevensz of Calcar. The portrait of Vesalius shown above is from the Fabrica.

       The Fabrica established Vesalius as the premier physician of his day and at age 29 he became court physician to the Holy Roman Emperor, first to Charles V and then to Philip II of Spain. Vesalius died following a shipwreck while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Authorities differ on the reason for this pilgrimage. Some hold that Vesalius had been sentenced to death by the Inquisition for his dissection of the human body, this death sentence having been commutated by Philip II to a trip to the Holy Land. Other hold that Vesalius was unhappy with his position in Philip's court, and was using the pilgrimage as a ruse to return to his position at Padua. All agree he died in Greece in 1564.

Sources:
C Singer (1957) A Short History of Anatomy and Physiology from the Greeks to Harvey, New York, Dover
JA Moore (1988) Am. Zool. 28: 522
ES Hodgson (1990) Am. Zool. 30: 417
Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists (1996)

       While Singer (1957) claims Vesalius honed his dissections skills under Sylvius at Paris, a possibly apocryphal quote by Vesalius throws some doubt on this view: Vesalius was heard to remark that the only time he ever saw Sylvius use a knife was to eat his peas.

       If you have a favorite quote concerning anatomy or by a famous anatomist, please e-mail it to the FIU Anatomy Home Page.


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