Andreas Vesalius

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• Andreas Vesalius

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• A Belgian-born physician

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• Wrote On the Structure of the Human Body
• Published in 1543

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• This 700-page book, with more than 300
  illustrations, established the foundations of the
  modern science of anatomy.

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• It contained Vesalius firsthand observations of
  the structure and operation of the human body.

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• The application of the scientific method would
  not have been possible had not Vesalius dared to
  dissect human bodies.

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• It is important to remember that the scientific
  method involves direct observation and
  experimentation.

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• Vesalius had to dissect a body to see how the
  body worked.

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• In the mid-1500s, medical knowledge of the
  workings of the human body was limited mainly to
  the writings of Galen, a physician who lived
  during the period of the Roman Empire.

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• Galens work was not very accurate, because he
  never studied a corpse.

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• Not until the 15th century did European
  universities permit occasional public dissections
  of the bodies of executed criminals.

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• Vesalius was determined to learn by first-hand
  investigation and observation. As a 20-year-old
  medical student in Paris, he took the risk of
  doing two public dissections before large
  audiences.

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• At age 23, Vesalius became professor of anatomy
  at the University of Padua in Italy.

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• He was appointed as court physician to the Holy
  Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles V, and
  to Philip II, Charless successor as King of
  Spain.

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• At the time of the publication of his book,
  Vesalius views and methods came under attack by
  the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church.

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• Angered by the criticism, Vesalius burned his
  notes.

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• For twenty years, he did not perform dissections.

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• Eventually, Vesalius resumed his investigations
  into the workings of the human body.

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• However, while returning from a pilgrimage to the
  Holy Land, Vesalius was shipwrecked and died of
  disease or starvation on a Mediterranean island.

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• But Vesalius changed world history.

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• Write a letter to Vesalius in which you comment
  on his reaction to criticism. Advise him as to
  how and why he might have responded differently.