The Anatomy Lesson ~ Rambrandt (CA 1632)

Vesalius’ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Vesalius work led to a huge leap forward in the understanding of how the human body worked. He established accurately its skeletal framework and showed how muscles provided the means by which the parts of that framework moved in relation to each other. He freed knowledge of the nervious system from the Aristotelian myth that the heart was the centre of all physical sensation and emotion by pioneering the study of nerves and their emanation from the brain. With accurate dissection of the heart he opened up the way for later scholars to discover how blood circulates. He laid the foundation for understanding the parts of the digestive system and their functions.

However valuable Vesalius was to his employer, he could not escape criticism from medical men of the old school. Spain was a dangerous place to make enemies for it was there that the Inquisition wielded enormous power. Even vigilant in their determination to weed out theological novelties, the agents of this unyielding institution were feared by people at all level of society. At some stage suspicion fell upon the belief and practices of Vesalius which, it was suggested, contradicted the teachings of the Church. The details of the case are obscure. It seems that, after examination, he was exonerated. But this did nit stop his rivals pursuing their whispering campaign. ~ Page 98 / 99

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