Andreas Vesalius: His Science, Teaching, and Exceptional Books

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) is one of the greatest anatomists of all time. His lasting recognition is due to two major achievements: being instrumental in mak-ing anatomy an empirical science and presenting the results of his work in an extraordinarily innovative way. The latter is also his connection with the arts. Vesalius was born in Brussels. He started his educa-tion inLeuven, attended theUniversityofParis, andcom-pleted his studies at the University of Padua (1, 2). From 1405 Paduawas in the territory of the Venetian Republic, by far the strongest of the Renaissance city-states (3). Venicewas also amajor centerof the arts,with artists such as Jacopo, Gentile, and Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian (1488/90–1576), who was then regarded as the greatest painter in Europe. In their art, the Venetians em-phasized the use of color, in contrast to line, which was dominant in Florentine painting. Medical knowledge at that time was based on texts rather than empirical observations. The foundations for thepractice ofmedicinewere still thewritings of aRoman physician, Galen (129 to c 230), whose views had domi-nated it for over 1300 years (4). During the Renaissance, the humanists ’ interest in the human body stimulated progress in anatomy, and anatomical treatises began to appear at the beginning of the 16th century. At Padua, Vesalius taught anatomy and surgery. He focused the teaching of anatomy on dissection of human cadavers, and taught by personal demonstra-tion. To support his teaching he began to publish ana-tomical illustrations. The first were the Tabulae Ana-tomicae Sex (The Six Anatomical Pictures) printed in Venice in 1538, a compilation of drawings he used in teaching (5). The Tabulae became immensely popular—and were extensively plagiarized. Vesalius’s main book, however, was De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem (On the Fabric of the Hu