Andreas Vesalius's contributions to biology. Story

Famous Renaissance physician, founder of modern anatomy, Andreas Vesalius born on the last day of 1514 in Brussels in the family of a physician. The entire environment of the future luminary of science was from the medical circle. His father served as pharmacist to Princess Margaret of Austria, the wise, well-educated, and delicately tasteful ruler of the Netherlands. His uncle also received medical education and became a doctor. Both Vesalius's grandfather and great-grandfather were aesculapians and famous professors of medicine. In addition, his colleagues constantly gathered in his father’s house, and the society was the most medical. Even Vesalius's younger brother became a doctor. In such an environment, it is not surprising that Andreas became interested in medical science. He showed remarkable abilities and rare memory, remembering all the discoveries made by his predecessors and commenting on them.

Having inherited the colossal library of his ancestors, which contained many medical treatises passed down through the family, Andreas acquired amazing erudition and an inquisitive mind.

His education was quite classical. There was also a traditional university waiting for him - Louvain, which taught ancient languages (Latin and Greek), mathematics, and rhetoric. But the young man was not satisfied with the quality of education, and a year later he continued it at Pedagogical College. There he quickly, thanks to his good abilities, mastered languages, including Arabic.

Andreas Vesalius' aptitude for anatomy became evident when, in his free time from university, he began dissecting domestic animals. An experienced mentor, a friend of his father, noticing the young man's interest in medicine, sent him to Paris, where the young aesculapian began to study anatomy under the supervision of brilliant doctors of that time. He listened to lectures by the “modern Galen,” Catherine de Medici’s physician Jacques François Fernel, who was the first doctor in France, an honored and recognized doctor of medicine in Europe.

During those years, the church still disapproved of and even rebelled against dissections of human corpses for the purpose of medical research. Once a year, only at the University of Montpellier, which specialized in anatomy, was it allowed to dissect a corpse with the highest permission of the king. But Vesalius needed constant practice of dissections for his research, so he had to literally take half-decomposed corpses from dogs in cemeteries. But when he had money, he negotiated with the cemetery watchman and received quite suitable, well-preserved bodies for dissection.

Having quarreled with a professor at the University of Louvain at professional topic, Vesalius was forced to leave his alma mater and arrive in Venice, which was distinguished by its liberalism in its approach to medical research. Throughout Europe, an anatomist would then have a hard time, given the ban on dissecting bodies. However, another story says that Vesalius left Padua after being caught in the act of removing a corpse from the gallows for dissection. One way or another, he fled from persecution.

At the age of 23, Andreas Vesalius already received his doctorate in medicine. The Senate of the Venetian Republic appointed him professor and teacher of surgery and anatomy after a public demonstration of the dissection. His spectacular lectures did not go unnoticed; students from different faculties came to listen to the rising star of medicine, and after some time, in a solemn atmosphere, he was appointed court physician to the bishop.

The routine that reigned in medicine at that time was abhorrent to the active Vesalius. He republished Galen, compiled anatomical maps, and published his first work, Letters on Bloodletting.

Andreas' predecessors studied anatomy from the structure of animal bodies, without being able to dissect human bodies. Therefore many medical works before Vesalius were replete with errors. Not being timid, the future classic of medicine risked refuting the canonized principles of the past. In 1543, he published his legendary work “On the Structure of the Human Body,” with which he challenged and then overthrew the authority of the great Galen, who dominated the pedestal of medicine for several centuries. The treatise of Andreas Vesalius in seven volumes was the first scientific work that described the structure of the human body and was based on real research. It was a triumph of scientific thought and proof of the cultural rise of the Renaissance. Printing was already developing by leaps and bounds, and Vesalius richly decorated his work with drawings by Titian’s student Stefan Kalkar.

Being extremely disciplined, Vesalius brought order to medical terminology. He streamlined the names, mostly getting rid of Greek terms, replacing them with Latin, and bringing about uniformity.

The treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body” played a fateful role in the life of Vesalius. Despite the diplomatic statements regarding the canonized Galen, the Belgian physician had to correct no less than 200 mistakes of the Roman doctor. Vesalius's student, Jacob Silvius, bowing to the authority of Galen, betrays his teacher and writes a harsh pamphlet entitled “Defense against slander of anatomical work by a certain madman,” where in 28 chapters he mocks Vesalius and then renounces him. This pamphlet was beneficial for the enemies and envious people of Vesalius, since it shook the integrity of his name. Over time, an atmosphere of contempt formed around the famous Belgian doctor, fueled by the powerful Catholic Church. Vesalius's statements and the conclusions he made in his work contradicted the attitudes and views of the church. What was it worth, for example, Vesalius’s proof that men and women have the same number of ribs? After all, the church claimed that one rib was taken from Adam. Or, for example, Vesalius, who knew by heart or, rather, by touch, all the bones of the human skeleton, never found the one that, as the church claimed, does not burn in fire and does not sink in water, for with its help everyone will be resurrected in day of judgment.

Persecution began against the recognized professor and honored teacher. Andreas Vesalius left the university in Padua and, driven to despair, burned his manuscripts and materials for further work.

Having stopped scientific research, Vesalius entered the service of Charles V. The emperor was a difficult patient, suffering from gout and excess food. After Kral V, the throne was occupied by his son Philip II, whom the Belgian doctor continued to serve. After the ruler moved from Brussels to Madrid, Vesalius was persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. The doctor was accused of stabbing a living person while dissecting a corpse. According to evidence, the “living person” was in a lethargic sleep. The intervention of Philip II saved Vesalius from the gallows. The execution was replaced by a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher, returning from there with great difficulty, the famous physician almost died during a shipwreck. Having been thrown onto the Greek island of Zakynthos (Zante), Andreas Vesalius became seriously ill and died at the age of 50.

Thus, the life of a great scientist and physician, whose innovative ideas were destined to become recognized only after many years of persecution and slander, was interrupted in such an absurd and untimely manner. Undoubtedly, the best proof of the truth of Vesalius’s discoveries remains the works he created that are still being studied.

This scientist, the founder of the study of the human body, is quite rightly called the father of anatomy.
Andreas Vesalius's great-great-grandfather, Peter, was the physician of Emperor Maximilian and was very fond of books. He spent part of his fortune on a collection of medical manuscripts. There is even a commentary in history in one of the books of the “Canon of Medical Science” by the great Eastern scientist Avicenna. Vesalius's great-grandfather was a mathematician and doctor in Brussels. My grandfather was also a doctor. My father was a pharmacist, so there was someone to learn from.

The famous anatomist was born in Brussels in 1514. From a young age he used the rich library, which was the property of his relatives. Thanks to all this, young Andreas developed a love for the study of medicine. Vesalius was very capable of learning.
He received good education, finishing school in Brussels and then entering the University of Louvain.

The inclination to study anatomy appeared quite early. With great enthusiasm, he dissected the corpses of domestic animals, studying the structure of organs. His father's friend, court physician Nikolai Floren, advised Vesalius to study in Paris.

In 1533, Andreas went to study medicine in Paris. Here for four years he studied anatomy under the guidance of the famous Italian physician Guido (Vidius). Guido was one of the first to begin studying large veins and peritoneum on corpses, and described the vermiform appendix (appendix).

It is quite obvious that the study of anatomy is carried out on cadaveric material. But this is exactly what there were big problems with back then. The church was against it, and for such a godly deed one could be persecuted. Under the cover of darkness, Vesalius stole the corpses of hanged criminals for study.

Andres managed to assemble his first knitted skeleton with great difficulty. Together with his friend (later a famous doctor) Gemma Frisius, they climbed the gallows, removed the bodies of the executed and hid them in the bushes along the roads. Not without difficulty, they were then delivered home. Subsequently, the soft tissues were cut off and the bones were boiled. Moreover, all this had to be done with the utmost caution and in secrecy.

In 1538, Andreas Vesalius published the anatomical tables he created, these were six drawings that were engraved by his friend, the artist Kalkar. Studying the literature of the past, the scientist became convinced that the description of the structure of the human body was mainly determined by the experience of dissecting animal bodies. Moreover, in this way erroneous information was passed on from century to century.

Vesalius, studying anatomy on the human body, wrote his immortal work “On the structure of the human body” in seven volumes over the course of four years. The work has been expanded a large number illustrations. A detailed description of the human body was given, and numerous mistakes of predecessors were noted. For example, for centuries it was believed that a man has one less rib (of course, from that rib the Lord created Eve).

Vesalius's work was the foundation on which modern anatomy arose. Vesalius had great respect for Galen. He was delighted with the vastness of his mind, and dared to point out small “inaccuracies” in his teaching. But there were more than two hundred such additions. This essentially meant a refutation of the basic teachings of Galen (what had been the bible of healers for almost 1500 years!). Andreas described the structure of the heart and proved that there is no septum between the left and right ventricles of the heart, as previously stated. It is worth recalling that at that time the blood circulation was not known. So where does the blood that the heart pumps go? Even without knowing about the presence of small vessels - capillaries, one can calculate purely empirically: the heart pumps about 6 liters of blood per minute. There is simply not that much blood in the body. It comes from nowhere and disappears into nowhere... Vesalius could not find an answer to this question. This was done later by William Harvey.

After Vesalius's work was published, a real storm began in science. Just imagine (now it’s basically the same thing), you are a professor or even an academician, you’ve been implementing some kind of hypothesis, a scientific idea all your life. You are relying on some foundation built by scientists before you. And then some young man appears who says: everything that you have been doing all your life is, to put it mildly, nonsense. Vesalius’s teacher, for whom Galen’s authority was unshakable, called the scientist “proud, slanderer, monster.” Moreover, he published a document ridiculing Vesalius. All Andreas' enemies united under this document.
The scientist was accused of disrespect for the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen. These teachings were canonized by the church (true knowledge cannot be tested!).
The persecution led the desperate Vesalius to stop research work, burned part of his manuscripts and materials... He went to war as a chief military surgeon, in the service of Charles V. After the war, he was the attending physician of Charles V, and then went to the service of his son, Philip II.

The Inquisition of Spain began to pursue Andreas, accusing the scientist of murder, allegedly he, while dissecting a corpse, stabbed a living person. He was sentenced to death. In 1563, a noble lady bequeathed her body for dissection. The brother of the deceased was present at the autopsy. After the anatomist cut the ribs to remove the heart, it began to beat (as the brother of the deceased claimed). Whether this seemed to a relative who understood nothing about medicine or whether it was a well-thought-out slander, no one knows. Philip II intervened in the fate of Vesalius and the execution was replaced by a pilgrimage to Palestine. Returning from this dangerous journey, the ship on which he sailed was wrecked. The father of anatomy was thrown onto the small island of Zakynthos, where he became seriously ill and died. On October 15, 1956, at the age of 50, the soul of the founder of anatomy rested on a small island.

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On the topic: “Andreas Vesalius, the father of modern anatomy”

Isakova Alla Shaditovna

Andreas Vesalius - founder of anatomy

If anyone can be called the father of anatomy, it is, of course, Vesalius. Andreas Vesalius, naturalist, founder and creator of modern anatomy, was one of the first to study the human body through dissection. All later anatomical acquisitions originate from him.

Andreas was born in Brussels on December 31, 1514, and grew up among the doctors who visited his father's house. From a young age, he used a rich library of medical treatises collected in the family and passed down from generation to generation. Thanks to this, the young and capable Andreas developed an interest in studying medicine. It must be said that he had extraordinary erudition: he remembered all the discoveries made by various authors, and commented on them in his writings.

Andreas Vesalius showed an early affinity for anatomy. In his free time from university studies, he dissected and carefully dissected domestic animals with great enthusiasm. This passion did not go unnoticed. The court physician and friend of Andreas' father, Nikolai Floren, who was interested in the fate of the young man, recommended that he study medicine, and only in Paris. Subsequently, in 1539, Vesalius dedicated his work “Epistle on Bloodletting” to Floren, calling him his second father.

In 1533, Andreas went to study medicine in Paris. Here he studied anatomy for three or four years, listening to lectures by an Italian doctor, better known as Vidius and Jacques Desbois. He was one of the first to begin anatomical studies of the structure of the vena cava, peritoneum, etc. on human corpses; invented the injection of blood vessels with dyes; described the appendix, the structure of the liver, the position of the vena cava, discovered the vein valves, etc.

Vesalius also attended lectures of the “modern Galen,” as Fernel, the best physician in Europe, was called. Jacques François Fernel, a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and physician, introduced several key concepts into medicine: “physiology” and “pathology”. He wrote a lot about syphilis and other diseases, studied, among other things, epilepsy and accurately distinguished the types of this disease. In 1530, the Paris Medical Faculty awarded him the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in 1534 he received the title of Professor of Medicine. He was called the first doctor of France and one of the most venerable in Europe.

Vesalius did not limit himself to attending the lectures of Silvius and Fernel; he also studied with Johann Gunther, a Swiss from Anderlecht, who at that time taught anatomy and surgery in Paris. Vesalius established a more cordial relationship with Gunther than with Silvius. Gunther valued his student very much.

Anatomy classes involve practice on human material. Vesalius needed the corpses of dead people for anatomical research. But there have always been great difficulties with this issue. This activity, as we know, has never been a godly activity; the church has traditionally rebelled against it. Herophilus was probably the only doctor who, while dissecting corpses in Museion, was not persecuted for it. Carried away by the passion of scientific research, Vesalius went alone to the cemetery at night and there challenged stray dogs for their half-rotten prey.

After spending more than three years in Paris, in 1536 Vesalius returned to Louvain, where he continued to do what he loved together with his friend Gemma Frizius (1508-1555), who later became a famous doctor. Vesalius made his first knitted skeleton with great difficulty. Together with Frizius, they stole the corpses of those executed, sometimes removing them in parts, climbing the gallows at the risk of their lives. At night, they hid the body parts in roadside bushes, and then, taking advantage of various opportunities, took them home, where they cut off the soft tissue and boiled the bones. All this had to be done in the deepest secrecy.

Vesalius entered into a dispute with a teacher at the University of Louvain, Driver (1504-1554), about the best way to perform bloodletting. There were two opposing opinions on this issue: Hippocrates and Galen taught that bloodletting should be done from the side of the diseased organ, the Arabs and Avicenna suggested doing it from the opposite side of the diseased organ. Driver spoke out in support of Avicenna, Vesalius - Hippocrates and Galen. Dreaver was indignant at the young doctor’s insolence and responded sharply to him, and from then on began to dislike Vesalius. Vesalius felt that it would be difficult for him to continue working in Louvain.

It was necessary to go somewhere for a while. But where! In Spain the church was omnipotent; touching a knife to a human corpse was considered a desecration of the deceased and was completely impossible; in Belgium and France, autopsy of corpses was very difficult. Vesalius heads to the Venetian Republic, attracted by the opportunity to gain more freedom for anatomical research. The University of Padua, founded in 1222, became subject to Venice in 1440. The Faculty of Medicine became the most famous medical school in Europe. Padua greeted Vesalius favorably; his works “Anatomical Establishments” by Gunther and “Paraphrase” by Razi were already known there.

On December 5, 1537, the medical faculty of the University of Padua, at a ceremonial meeting, awarded him the academic degree of Doctor of Medicine, with the highest honors. After Vesalius publicly demonstrated dissection, the Senate of the Venetian Republic appointed him professor of surgery with an obligation to teach anatomy. He became a professor at the age of 23. His bright lectures attracted listeners from all faculties. Soon, to the sound of trumpets and waving flags, he was proclaimed a doctor at the palace of the Bishop of Padua.

The active nature of Vesalius could not put up with the routine that reigned in the anatomy departments of many universities, where professors monotonously read long excerpts from the works of Galen. Autopsies of corpses were performed by illiterate servants, and professors with a voluminous volume of Galen in their hands stood nearby and from time to time pointed with a wand to various organs as they were mentioned in the text

In 1538, Vesalius published anatomical tables - 6 sheets of drawings, engraved by Titian's student, the artist S. Kalkar. In the same year, he undertook a republication of Galen’s works and a year later published his “Letters on Bloodletting.” While working on the publication of the works of his predecessors, Vesalius became convinced that they described the structure of the human body based on sections of animal body organs, conveying erroneous information legitimized by time and tradition. Studying the human body through dissection, Vesalius accumulated indisputable facts, which he decided to boldly contrast with the canons of the past. During his four years in Padua, Vesalius wrote his immortal work “On the Structure of the Human Body” (books 1-7), which was published in Basel in 1543 and was richly illustrated. It provides a description of the structure of organs and systems, and points out numerous mistakes of predecessors, incl. Galena. It should be especially emphasized that after the appearance of Vesalius’s treatise, Galen’s authority was shaken and then overthrown.

By coincidence, the treatise appeared in the year of Copernicus’s death, and at the same time Copernicus’s book “On the Revolution of the Celestial Bodies” was published, which revolutionized not only astronomy, but also in the worldview of people. By the way, the son of a merchant, Canon Copernicus knew a lot about anatomy; at one time he studied Faculty of Medicine University of Padua, and upon returning to Poland from 1504 to 1512 he was engaged in healing with his uncle Bishop Wachenrode.

Vesalius's work was the beginning of modern anatomy; in it, for the first time in the history of anatomy, not a speculative, but a completely scientific description of the structure of the human body, based on experimental research, was given.

The father of anatomy, Vesalius made enormous contributions to anatomical terminology in Latin. Taking as a basis the names introduced by Aulus Cornelius Celsus (1st century BC), Vesalius gave uniformity to the anatomical terminology and threw out, with extremely rare exceptions, all medieval barbarisms. At the same time, he reduced Greekisms to a minimum, which can to some extent be explained by his rejection of many of the provisions of Galenic medicine. It is noteworthy that, being an innovator in anatomy, Vesalius believed that the carrier of the psyche were “animal spirits” that were produced in the ventricles of the brain. This view was reminiscent of Galen's theory, for these "spirits" were just a renamed "psychic pneum" of the ancients.

Vesalius’s work “On the Structure of the Human Body” is not only the result of the study of previous achievements in anatomy, but also a scientific discovery based on new research methods that had enormous revolutionary significance in the science of that time. Diplomatically lavishing praise on the “divine man” Galen and expressing surprise at the vastness of his mind and versatility of knowledge, Vesalius decides to point out only some “inaccuracies” in his teaching. But he numbers more than 200 such inaccuracies, and they are, in essence, a refutation of the main provisions of Galen’s teachings. Vesalius, in particular, was the first to refute the erroneous opinion of Galen and his other predecessors that there are supposedly holes in the human heart septum through which blood passes from the right ventricle of the heart to the left. He showed that the right and left ventricles of the heart are in postembryonic period do not communicate with each other. However, from this discovery, which fundamentally refuted Galen’s ideas about the physiological mechanism of blood circulation, Vesalius did not draw the correct conclusions; Harvey later drew them.

After the publication of Vesalius's great work, a long-brewing storm broke out. Silvius, the teacher of Vesalius, bowing to the authority of Galen, considered everything abnormal in the human body that did not agree with the description or view of the great Roman. For this reason, he rejected the discoveries of his student Vesalius. Without hiding his indignation, he calls Vesalius “a proud man, a slanderer, a monster, whose unholy breath infects Europe.” Silvius and his students presented a united front against Vesalius, calling him an ignoramus and a blasphemer. However, Sylvius did not limit himself to insults; he wrote a sharp pamphlet “Refutation of the slander of a certain madman on the anatomical works of Hippocrates and Galen, compiled by Jacob Sylvius, the royal interpreter of medical issues in Paris" (1555) Silvius, in 28 chapters of this pamphlet, wittily ridicules his former student and friend, calling him not Vesalius, but "Vesanus", which in Latin means "mad", and, in the end, renounces him.

Silvius's pamphlet played a fatal role in the life of Vesalius. This document, imbued with malicious and jealous envy, united the enemies of the father of anatomy and created an atmosphere of public contempt around his immaculate name among the conservative camp of the then medical scientists. Vesalius was accused of disrespect for the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen, which were formally canonized by the then omnipotent Catholic Church, but their judgments and especially their authority were accepted as the indisputable truths of Holy Scripture, and objecting to them was tantamount to rejecting the latter. In addition, Vesalius was a student of Silvius, used his scientific advice, and if Silvius reproached Vesalius for slander, then the accusation against him seemed plausible. Silvius did not disinterestedly defend Galen's authority. His indignation was due to the fact that, by undermining the authority of Galen, Vesalius also destroyed him, for Silvius’s knowledge rested on the texts of the classics of medicine carefully studied and passed on to his students.

Silvius's pamphlet inflicted a mortal wound on Vesalius, from which he never recovered. Opposition to the scientific views of Vesalius arose in Padua. One of his most active opponents was his student and deputy at the department, Real Colombo (c. 1516-1559). After the insinuation appeared, Sylvia Colombo sharply changed his attitude towards his teacher: he began to criticize and tried to discredit him in front of the students. In 1544, when Vesalius left Padua, Colombo was appointed to the department of anatomy, but served as professor of the department for only a year. In 1545 he moved to the University of Pisa, and then, in 1551, took up a chair in Rome, where he worked until his death. Gabriel Fallopius (1523-1562) succeeded Colombo at the Padua See and declared himself the heir and disciple of Vesalius, continuing with honor his traditions.

The evil fabrications of Silvius led to the fact that Vesalius, driven to despair, stopped his research work and burned part of his manuscripts and materials collected for further works. Vesalius was forced in 1544 to switch to the field of medical practice, to the service of Charles V. At that time, Charles V was at war with France, and Vesalius, as the chief military surgeon, had to go to the theater of military operations. The war ended in September 1544, and Vesalius left for Brussels, where his father soon died. After the death of his father, Vesalius received an inheritance and decided to start a family. In January 1545, Charles V arrived in Brussels, and Vesalius was to assume the duties of attending physician to the emperor. Karl suffered from gout and was an immoderate eater. Vesalius had to make titanic efforts to alleviate the emperor's suffering. After the abdication of Charles V in 1555, Vesalius entered the service of his son, Philip II. In 1559, Philip II and his court moved from Brussels to Madrid, and Vesalius and his family followed him.

The Spanish Inquisition began to mercilessly persecute Vesalius, accusing him of allegedly stabbing a living person while dissecting a corpse, and eventually sentenced him to death. And only thanks to the intercession of Philip II, the execution was replaced by a pilgrimage to Palestine to the Holy Sepulcher. Returning from this dangerous and difficult journey for that time, at the entrance to the Strait of Corinth, Vesalius' ship was wrecked, and the father of modern anatomy was thrown onto the small island of Zante, where he became seriously ill and died on October 2, 1564, 50 years old. On this secluded island, covered with pine trees, the soul of the great anatomist rested forever.

1564 (49 years old)

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) - naturalist, founder of anatomy. Born in Brussels. Vesalius' activities took place in many European countries. He was one of the first to study the human body through dissection. In his main work, “On the Structure of the Human Body” (books 1-7, 1543), Vesalius gave a scientific description of the structure of all organs and systems, and pointed out many mistakes of his predecessors, including Galen. Persecuted by the church. Died in a shipwreck.

Andreas Vesalius is rightly considered the creator of modern anatomy and the founder of the school of anatomists. He also enjoyed success as a medical practitioner.

Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels into a family of hereditary physicians. His grandfather and great-grandfather were doctors, and his father served as a pharmacist at the court of Emperor Charles V. The interests of those around him undoubtedly influenced the interests and aspirations of young Vesalius. Andreas studied first at school and then at the University of Louvain, where he received a comprehensive education, studied Greek and Latin languages, thanks to which he could get acquainted with the works of scientists already in early years. Obviously, he read many books about medicine by ancient and contemporary scientists, since his works speak of deep knowledge. Vesalius independently assembled a complete human skeleton from the bones of an executed man. This was the first anatomical manual in Europe.

The science of the structure of the human body is the most worthy field of knowledge for man and deserves extreme approval; The men of Rome who were the most outstanding both in their deeds and in their studies of philosophical disciplines were pleased to devote all their energies to her.

Vesalius Andreas

Every year Vesalius's passionate interest in the study of medicine and anatomical research became more and more evident. In his free time from studying, he carefully dissected the bodies of mice, cats, and dogs at home, studying the structure of their bodies.

In an effort to improve his knowledge in the field of medicine, especially anatomy, Andreas Vesalius at the age of seventeen went to the University of Montpellier, and in 1533 he first appeared at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Paris to listen to lectures by the famous anatomist Silvius. Young Vesalius could already take a critical approach to the method of teaching anatomy.

In the preface to the treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body,” Andreas Vesalius wrote: “My studies would never have led to success if, during my medical work in Paris, I had not put my own hands into this matter... And I myself, somewhat sophisticated own experience, publicly performed a third of the autopsies on his own.”

A. Vesalius asks questions during his lectures that indicate his doubts about the correctness of Galen’s teachings. Galen is an indisputable authority, his teaching should be accepted without any reservations, and Vesalius trusts his eyes more than the works of Galen.

Only the creations of the mind are eternal; everything else is the lot of death.

Vesalius Andreas

The scientist rightly considered anatomy to be the basis of medical knowledge, and the goal of his life was the desire to revive the experience of the distant past, to develop and improve the method of studying human anatomy. However, the church, which hindered the development natural sciences, prohibited the autopsy of human corpses, considering it blasphemy. The young anatomist Andreas Vesalius had to overcome many difficulties.

In order to be able to do anatomy, he took every opportunity. If he had money in his pocket, he negotiated with the cemetery watchman, and then a corpse fit for autopsy fell into his hands. If there was no money, Vesalius, hiding from the watchman, opened the grave himself, without his knowledge. What to do, I had to take risks!

Vesalius studied the bones of the human and animal skeletons so well that he could name any bone by touch without looking at them.

Andreas Vesalius spent three years at the university, and then circumstances were such that he had to leave Paris and go to Louvain again.

There Vesalius got into trouble. He removed the corpse of an executed criminal from the gallows and performed an autopsy. The Louvain clergy demanded the strictest punishment for such blasphemy. Vesalius realized that disputes were useless here, and considered it best to leave Louvain and went to Italy.

After receiving his doctorate in 1537, Andreas Vesalius began teaching anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. The government of the Venetian Republic encouraged the development of natural science and sought to expand the work of scientists at this university.

The brilliant talent of the young scientist attracted attention. Twenty-two-year-old Vesalius, who had already received the title of Doctor of Medicine for his work, was appointed to the department of surgery with the responsibility of teaching anatomy.

Andreas gave inspired lectures, which always attracted many listeners, worked with students and, most importantly, continued his research. And the deeper he studied internal structure body, the more I became convinced that there were many very significant errors in Galen’s teachings, which were simply not noticed by those who were under the influence of Galen’s authority.

He worked on his work for four long years. Vesalius studied, translated and republished the works of medical scientists of the past, his anatomist predecessors. And in their works he found many errors. “Even the greatest scientists,” Vesalius wrote, “slavishly adhered to other people’s mistakes and some strange style in their unsuitable manuals.” The scientist began to trust the most authentic book - the book of the human body, in which there are no errors. At night, by candlelight, Andreas Vesalius dissected corpses. He set out to solve the great problem of correctly describing the location, shape and functions of the organs of the human body.

The result of the scientist’s passionate and persistent work was the famous treatise in seven books, which appeared in 1543 and entitled “On the Structure of the Human Body.” It was a gigantic scientific work, in which new scientific views were presented instead of outdated dogmas. It reflected the cultural rise of humanity during the Renaissance.

Printing developed rapidly in Venice and in Basel, where Andreas Vesalius published his work. His book is decorated with beautiful drawings by the artist Stefan Kalkar, a student of Titian. It is characteristic that the skeletons depicted in the drawings stand in poses characteristic of living people, and the landscapes surrounding some skeletons speak more about life than about death. All this work of Vesalius was intended for the benefit of a living person, the study of his body in order to preserve his health and life. Each capital letter in the treatise is decorated with a drawing depicting children studying anatomy. This is how it was in ancient times, the art of anatomy was taught from childhood, knowledge was passed on from father to son. Gorgeous artistic composition The book's frontispiece depicts Andreas Vesalius during a public lecture and dissection of a human corpse.

Vesalius's work excited the minds of scientists. The courage of his scientific thought was so unusual that, along with his followers who appreciated his discoveries, he had many enemies. The great scientist experienced a lot of grief and disappointment when even his students abandoned him. The famous Silvius, Vesalius's teacher, called Vesalius "Vesanus", which means crazy. He spoke out against him with a sharp pamphlet, which he called “Defense against the slander of the anatomical works of Hippocrates and Galen by a certain madman.”

He did not disdain to turn to the emperor himself with a demand to approximately punish Vesalius: “I beg the Caesar’s Majesty,” wrote professor Jacob Silvius, “to severely beat and generally curb this monster of ignorance, ingratitude, impudence, the most destructive example of wickedness, born and raised in his house, as this monster deserves, so that with its plague breath it does not poison Europe.”

Andreas Vesalius foresaw how events would turn out after the publication of his treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body”. Even earlier, he wrote: “... my work will be attacked by those who did not take up anatomy as zealously as was the case in Italian schools, and who, now in old age, are languishing with envy at the correct revelations of the young man.”

Most eminent doctors really took Silvius’s side. They joined his demand to curb and punish Andreas Vesalius, who dared to criticize the great Galen. Such was the power of recognized authorities, such were the foundations of social life of that time, when any innovation aroused caution, any bold statement that went beyond the established canons was regarded as freethinking. These were the fruits of the centuries-old ideological monopoly of the church, which instilled inertia and routine.

Having opened dozens of corpses and carefully studied the human skeleton, Vesalius came to the conclusion that the opinion that men have one less rib than women is completely wrong. But such a belief went beyond the scope of medical science. It affected church doctrine.

Vesalius also did not take into account another statement of the clergy. In his time, the belief was maintained that there is a bone in the human skeleton that does not burn in fire and is indestructible. It supposedly contains a mysterious power with the help of which a person will be resurrected on the day of the Last Judgment in order to appear before the Lord God. And although no one saw this bone, it was described in scientific works, there was no doubt about its existence. Vesalius, who described the structure of the human body, directly stated that, while examining the human skeleton, he did not find a mysterious bone.

Andreas Vesalius was aware of the consequences of his actions against Galen. He understood that he was opposing the prevailing opinion and was hurting the interests of the church. And he knew well what to do with such daring loners. The scientist continued to teach at the University of Padua, but every day the atmosphere around him became more and more tense. He was bitter to part with Padua, with the university, to interrupt his work and research. But he saw no other way out.

Just at this time he received an invitation from the Spanish Emperor Charles V to take the place of court physician. The emperor's court was at that time in Brussels. Vesalius's father also served Charles, and the young professor accepted the emperor's offer. Of course, in Brussels he will not have a department, he will not be able to teach students. But the imperial court will serve as a reliable shelter for him from the persecution of the church, leaving him the opportunity to study anatomy. Thus, the position of court physician, although Vesalius did not like it, had its advantages.

Still, it would be difficult to find a more unsuitable position for Vesalius. He was a scientist, a researcher. Now he had to learn principles that were very far from science, the ability to please his noble patients, capture their thoughts, and participate in all court ceremonies.

But even under these conditions, he did not stop the work to which he devoted his life. All free time Andreas Vesalius gave a treatise “On the structure of the human body.” He made amendments, additions, and clarified what did not seem entirely convincing to him. Taking every opportunity, he was engaged in anatomization. But the thought that he is cut off from scientific centers, What research activities became a side business for him and oppressed Vesalius.

He dreamed of returning to the scientific department. But in reality, Vesalius could not even think about leaving Brussels and moving to another place where he could do work he liked. As soon as he left the imperial court, the Inquisition would again show interest in him. That is why, in the saddest moments of his life, Vesalius convinced himself that he had to come to terms with the circumstances.

A. Vesalius managed to publish his treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body” in the second edition. It was just a short happy moment in all these years, and then everything went on as before. A long series of monotonous days stretched out one after another.

But then Vesalius’s stay at the imperial court came to an end. His patron Charles V abdicated the throne, retired to a monastery and soon died. Philip II, a bilious and evil man, ascended the throne. He did not like Vesalius and openly expressed his dislike to him. Numerous envious people and enemies of the court physician hastened to take advantage of this. The new emperor's attitude towards Vesalius worsened even more. Vesalius felt that he needed to leave Brussels as quickly as possible. He made an attempt to break free from the power of the new emperor and asked to be released to Italy. But the wayward Philip categorically opposed this.

Under Philip, the church's strict prohibitions on dissecting corpses again affected Vesalius. To violate them meant entering into open conflict with the church. Vesalius wrote with bitterness about this time - “I could not even touch a dry skull with my hand, and even less was I able to perform autopsies.”

But no matter how hard Andreas Vesalius tried not to give the church any reason for any accusations, it turned out to be beyond his power. Streams of slander again poured down on Vesalius. To top it all off, he was falsely accused of having dissected a living person.

Vesalius tried to prove his innocence, but it was all in vain. He had to obey. The verdict of the church was categorical: the court physician Andreas Vesalius, in atonement for his sins, had to go to worship in the “holy places” at the Holy Sepulcher...

In 1564, Vesalius left Madrid with his wife and daughter. Leaving his family in Brussels, he set off on a long journey alone. On the way to Jerusalem, the scientist stopped in his beloved Venice, where he spent best years of your creative life.

Vesalius did not abandon the thought of returning to her favorite science. There is an assumption that the Senate of Venice invited him to again take up a chair at the University of Padua. But the scientist’s dream of returning to science did not come true. On way back From Jerusalem, during a shipwreck, the sick Vesalius was thrown onto the island of Zante (Greece), where he died in 1564. We do not know the place of his burial, but the best monument to the scientist, fighter for progressive science is his great work about the structure of the human body. (Samin D.K. 100 great scientists. - M.: Veche, 2000)

More about Andreas Vesalius:

Vesalius (Andrew Vesalius) - a famous surgeon and founder of modern anatomy, was born on December 31, 1514 in Brussels, into a family that included several famous doctors among its ancestors (his grandfather was the author of the work “Comments on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates”).

Andreas Vesalius was educated at Louvain, Paris and Montpellier and especially devoted himself to the study of human anatomy, at the risk of his life, due to the prejudices of his time, obtaining human corpses. They say that even Andreas himself, before each dissection of the corpse, fervently asked God for forgiveness for the fact that, in the interests of science, he was looking for the secret of life in death.

He soon gained fame as an experienced surgeon and was invited to lecture on anatomy in Basel, Padua, Bologna and Pisa. In 1543, Andreas Vesalius published his famous work “De corporis humani fabrica libri septem” (Basel), which opened new era in the history of anatomy: the authority of Galen was finally overthrown and human anatomy was placed on the basis of precise experimental research.

The work of Andreas Vesalius provoked, as one might expect, fierce attacks from obscurantist doctors, against whom Vesalius defended himself with several polemical works. From 1544, as the life physician of Emperor Charles V, Andreas accompanied him on all his travels, but under his son, Philip II, the Spanish Inquisition managed to capture the long-lurking enemy. Accused that during an autopsy the heart of the deceased showed some signs of life, Andreas Vesalius was sentenced to death. Only thanks to the intercession of Philip II, death penalty was replaced by a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher.

On the way back, a storm threw the unfortunate scientist onto the island of Zante, where Andreas Vesalius died (1564). Complete collection of op. V. published by Burgaw and Albin (Leiden, 2 vols., 1725).

Andreas Vesalius - quotes

...The science of the structure of the human body is the most worthy field of knowledge for man and deserves extreme approval; The men of Rome who were the most outstanding both in their deeds and in their studies of philosophical disciplines were pleased to devote all their energies to her.

Only the creations of the mind are eternal; everything else is the lot of death.

Andreas Vesalius was born on December 31st 1514 year in the city of Brussels (Seventeen Provinces). Vesalius' activities took place in many European countries. He was one of the first to study the human body through dissection. In the main work “On the structure of the human body” ( 1543 ) Vesalius gave a scientific description of the structure of all organs and systems, pointed out many mistakes of his predecessors, including Galen. Persecuted by the church.

Andreas Vesalius is rightly considered the creator of modern anatomy and the founder of the school of anatomists. He also enjoyed success as a medical practitioner.

Andreas Vesalius's doctors were his grandfather and great-grandfather, and his father served as a pharmacist at the court of Emperor Charles V. The interests of those around him undoubtedly influenced the interests and aspirations of young Vesalius. Andreas studied first at school and then at the University of Louvain, where he received a comprehensive education, studied Greek and Latin, thanks to which he could become acquainted with the works of scientists already in his youth. Obviously, he read many books about medicine by ancient and contemporary scientists, since his works speak of deep knowledge. Vesalius independently assembled a complete human skeleton from the bones of an executed man. This was the first anatomical manual in Europe.

In an effort to improve his knowledge in the field of medicine, especially anatomy, Andreas Vesalius, at the age of seventeen, went to the University of Montpellier, and at 1533 year, he first appeared at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Paris to listen to lectures by the famous anatomist Silvius. Young Vesalius could already take a critical approach to the method of teaching anatomy.

The scientist rightly considered anatomy to be the basis of medical knowledge, and the goal of his life was the desire to revive the experience of the distant past, to develop and improve the method of studying human anatomy. However, the church, which hindered the development of natural sciences, prohibited the autopsy of human corpses, considering it blasphemy. The young anatomist Andreas Vesalius had to overcome many difficulties.

Vesalius studied the bones of the human and animal skeletons so well that he could name any bone by touch without looking at them.

Andreas Vesalius spent three years at the university, and then circumstances were such that he had to leave Paris and go to Louvain again.

After receiving in 1537 Year of his doctorate, Andreas Vesalius began teaching anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. The government of the Venetian Republic encouraged the development of natural science and sought to expand the work of scientists at this university.

Andreas gave inspired lectures, which always attracted many listeners, worked with students and, most importantly, continued his research. And the more deeply he studied the internal structure of the body, the more he became convinced that there were many very significant errors in Galen’s teachings, which were simply not noticed by those who were under the influence of Galen’s authority.

The result of the scientist’s passionate and persistent work was the famous treatise in seven books, which appeared in 1543 year and entitled “On the structure of the human body.” It was a gigantic scientific work, in which new scientific views were presented instead of outdated dogmas. It reflected the cultural rise of humanity during the Renaissance.

All this work of Vesalius was intended for the benefit of a living person, the study of his body in order to preserve his health and life. Each capital letter in the treatise is decorated with a drawing depicting children studying anatomy. This is how it was in ancient times, the art of anatomy was taught from childhood, knowledge was passed on from father to son. The book's magnificent frontispiece artwork depicts Andreas Vesalius during a public lecture and dissection of a human corpse.

Vesalius also did not take into account another statement of the clergy. In his time, the belief was maintained that there is a bone in the human skeleton that does not burn in fire and is indestructible. It supposedly contains a mysterious power with the help of which a person will be resurrected on the day of the Last Judgment in order to appear before the Lord God. And although no one saw this bone, it was described in scientific works, and there was no doubt about its existence. Vesalius, who described the structure of the human body, directly stated that, while examining the human skeleton, he did not find a mysterious bone.

But even under these conditions, he did not stop the work to which he devoted his life. Andreas Vesalius devoted all his free time to the treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body.” He made amendments, additions, and clarified what did not seem entirely convincing to him. Taking every opportunity, he was engaged in anatomization. But the thought that he was cut off from scientific centers, that research activities had become a sideline for him, depressed Vesalius.

IN 1564 Vesalius left Madrid with his wife and daughter. Leaving his family in Brussels, he set off on a long journey alone. On the way to Jerusalem, the scientist stopped in his beloved Venice, where he spent the best years of his creative life.

The work of Andreas Vesalius provoked, as one might expect, fierce attacks from obscurantist doctors, against whom Vesalius defended himself with several polemical works. WITH 1544 g., as the life physician of Emperor Charles V, Andreas accompanied him on all his travels, but under his son, Philip II, the Spanish Inquisition managed to capture the enemy, which had long been in wait. Accused that during an autopsy the heart of the deceased showed some signs of life, Andreas Vesalius was sentenced to death. Only thanks to the intercession of Philip II, the death penalty was replaced by a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher.

On the way back, the storm threw the unfortunate scientist onto the island of Zante (Venetian Republic), where Andreas Vesalius died on October 15 1564 year.