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This scientist, the founder of the study of the organism of the human body, is rightfully called the father of anatomy.
The great-great-grandfather of Andreas Vesalius, 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. History even left a comment in one of the books of the "Canon of Medicine" by the great scientist of the East Avicenna. Vesalius' great-grandfather was a mathematician and physician in Brussels. My grandfather was also a doctor. My father was a pharmacist, so there was someone and something to learn from.
The famous anatomist was born in Brussels in 1514. From a young age, he used a rich library, which was the property of relatives. Thanks to all this, the young Andreas developed a love for the study of medicine. Vesalius was very capable of learning.
He received a good education, graduating from school in Brussels, and then enrolling in the University of Louvain.
The inclination to study anatomy appeared quite early. He opened up the corpses of domestic animals with great enthusiasm, studying the structure of organs. 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 doctor Guido (Vidius). Guido was one of the first who began to study large veins, peritoneum on corpses, described the appendix (appendix).
It is clear that the study of anatomy is carried out on cadaveric material. But just with this then they were big problems. The church was against it, and for such a charitable deed one could be persecuted. Under cover of night, Vesalius stole the corpses of hanged criminals for study.
Andres managed to assemble his first connected skeleton with great difficulty. With his friend (later a famous doctor) Gemma Frizius, they climbed the gallows, removed the bodies of the executed and hid them in the bushes along the roads. Not without difficulty then delivered them home. Subsequently, the soft tissues were cut off and the bones were boiled. And all this had to be done with the utmost care and in secret.
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 is mainly determined by the experience of opening the bodies of animals. Moreover, in this way erroneous information was transmitted from century to century.
Vesalius, studying anatomy on the human body, for four years wrote his immortal work "On the friction of the human body" in seven volumes. The work has been completed large quantity illustrations. cited detailed description human body, and numerous errors 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).
The work of Vesalius was the foundation on which modern anatomy arose. Vesalius had great respect for Galen. He admired the vastness of his mind, and ventured to point out small "inaccuracies" in his teaching. But there were more than two hundred such additions. In fact, this meant a refutation of the main teachings of Galen (that which was 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 mentioned earlier. It is worth recalling that at that time it was not known about the circles of blood circulation. So where does the blood that the heart pumps go? Even without knowing about the presence of small vessels - capillaries, one can purely empirically calculate: the heart pumps about 6 liters of blood per minute. There is simply not enough blood in the body. It is taken from nowhere and disappears into nowhere... Vesalius could not find an answer to this question. This was done later by William Harvey.
After the work of Vesalius was published, a real storm began in science. Just imagine (now, in principle, the same thing), you are a professor or even an academician, implementing some kind of hypothesis, scientific idea all your life. You are relying on some kind of foundation built by scientists before you. And then a young man appears who says: everything that you have been doing all your life is, to put it mildly, nonsense. Teacher Vesalius, for whom the authority of Galen was adamant, called the scientist "proud, slanderer, monster." Moreover, he issued a document ridiculing Vesalius. Under this document, all the enemies of Andreas united.
The scientist was accused of disrespectful attitude to the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen. These teachings were canonized by the church (true knowledge is not subject to verification!).
Persecution led the desperate Vesalius to stop research work, burned some of his manuscripts and materials ... He went to war as the chief military surgeon, to the service of Charles V. After the war, he was the attending physician of Charles V, and then switched to the service of his son, Philip II.
The Inquisition of Spain began to persecute Andreas, accusing the scientist of murder, allegedly, while dissecting a corpse, he stabbed a living person. He was sentenced to death penalty. In 1563, a noble lady bequeathed her body for an autopsy. The brother of the deceased was present at the autopsy. After the anatomist cut the ribs to extract the heart, it began to beat (as the brother of the deceased claimed). Whether it seemed to a relative who did not understand anything in medicine, or whether it was a deliberate 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 out on the small island of Zakynthos, where he fell 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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(Vesalius Andreas, 1514-1564) - the founder of modern anatomy. He graduated from the University of Louvain (Flanders), where he studied humanitarian sciences and ancient classics. From 1532 he studied medicine at the un-those in Montpellier, and then in Paris, where he worked under the guidance of the famous anatomist J. Silvius. In 1537, in Padua, he defended his thesis and received the degree of doctor of medicine. A. Vesalius applied the method of experimental study of the human body, also laying the foundation for many fiziol, discoveries.
In 1538, A. Vesalius published Anatomical Tables, consisting of 6 sheets of engravings made by Stefan Kalkar, a friend of A. Vesalius and a student of the artist Titian; published "Letters on bloodletting" and carried out a new edition of the works of K. Galen. In 1539 he read a course in anatomy at the University of Padua, demonstrating new methods of anatomical research; he showed that Galen's views on the structure of the human body are largely inaccurate, and sometimes erroneous.
In 1543, A. Vesalius published in Basel the famous treatise “On the Structure of the Human Body”, in which he sharply criticized the erroneous views of his predecessors, for which J. Silvius called him “vesanus” (insane) in a fierce debate. The treatise of A. Vesalius consists of 7 books: the first describes the bones of the skeleton and cartilage, the second - ligaments and muscles, the third - blood vessels, the fourth - nerves, the fifth - the digestive organs and the urinary-genital system, the sixth - the heart and respiratory organs, in the seventh - the brain and sense organs. In their descriptions
A. Vesalius connected the structure of human organs with their activity, pointing to the "expediency of their structure." He correctly described the human skeleton. He also proved that there are no pores in the septum of the heart between the right and left ventricles, the existence of which was written by ancient anatomists, and thus paved the way for the subsequent discovery of the small and large circles of blood circulation. Great are the merits of A. Vesalius in the creation of a new and clarification of the old anatomical terminology. I. P. Pavlov in the preface to the publication of the Russian translation of the treatise writes: “The work of Vesalius is the first human anatomy in recent history humanity, not only repeating the instructions and opinions of ancient authorities, but based on the work of a free research mind.
Exhausted by the persecution of the church, A. Vesalius was forced to burn part of his works and make the prescribed pilgrimage to Palestine. Returning from this most difficult journey for that time, he was sick, during a shipwreck, he was thrown out on about. Zante, where he died. The place of his grave is not known.
In the 17th century the Russian scientist Epiphanius Slavinetsky made a translation of "Epitome" - an extract from the treatise of A. Vesalius under the title "Vrachevskaya Anatomy of Vesalius" for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the boyar Rtishchev, who established in 1648 near Moscow, in the Preobrazhenskaya Desert, an academic brotherhood, a cut and headed by Epiphanius. This translation did not reach us, because the manuscript was lost.
Compositions: De humani corporis fabrica libri septem, Basileol, 1543 and 1555; Opera omnia anatomica et chirurgica, cura Hermanni Boerhaave et Bernhardi Siegfried Albini, Lugd, 1725; On the structure of the human body, trans. from Latin., vol. 1-2, M., 1950-1954; Epitome, trans. from Latin., M., 1974.
Bibliography: Kupriyanov V.V. Andrey Vesalius and the history of anatomy and medicine, M., 1964; LeibsonL. G. Andrei Vesalius and his "seven books on the structure of the human body", Priroda, No. 12, p. 66, 1948; Ternovsky V.N. Andrei Vesalius, M., 1965, bibliography; Gr u e r r i n about A. A. Andres Vesalio at la anatomia, Buenos Aires, 1955; M a j o r R. H. History of medicine, v. 1, p. 404, Springfield, 1954.
B. H. Ternovsky.
Andreas Vesalius (Andreas Vesalius, 1514 - 1564) - the famous physician of the Middle Ages, one of the founders of anatomy entered the history of critical care medicine as the author of one of the first written descriptions of the tracheostomy operation performed by him in an experiment on an animal with the aim of artificial ventilation of the lungs (1543 .).
The history of tracheostomy and tracheal intubation is very interesting, and quite unique, because over the course of four millennia (from about 2000 BC to the 20th century), these methods were rediscovered, then again disappeared into oblivion. Initially, they were only methods of resuscitation, and only then they began to be used as planned manipulations during artificial lung ventilation (ALV).
Apparently, modern historians of medicine in relation to tracheostomy and tracheal intubation will never be able to complete their favorite business - to scrupulously put everything on the shelves and distribute the priorities in the scientific discovery of these methods among researchers according to merit. However, in the matter of turning tracheostomy from a resuscitation only procedure into a planned manipulation, Andreas Vesalius is undoubtedly, if not a pioneer, then one of the main contenders for these laurels.
The first tracheostomies are lost in the depths of millennia. One of the earliest descriptions of a surgical tracheostomy can be found in the Rig Veda, an ancient Indian book dating from around 2000 BC. However, the operation mentioned in the book, reminiscent of the technique of tracheostomy, according to the Vedas, was performed back in the Bronze Age! Five centuries later in Egypt, in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a method of resuscitation similar to tracheostomy was also mentioned. The author of this papyrus was Imhotep, a renowned ancient Egyptian scholar, architect, physician, deified over time, who lived during the reign of the pharaoh of the III Dynasty of Djoser (c. 2780–2760 BC). Presumably, it was Imhotep who founded the school of medicine in Memphis. And all this two millennia before the birth of Hippocrates, the founder of Western medicine! Imhotep later served as the prototype for the Greek god of medicine Asclepius.
The next mention of the use of tracheostomy for asphyxia is associated with the name of Asclepiades (128-56 BC). Asklepiades - ancient Roman physician, Greek by origin, founder methodical school and a medical system based on the atomism of Epicurus. He recommended a simple, natural treatment ("treat reliably, quickly and pleasantly"). In most works on the history of medicine, it is stated that it was Asklepiades who introduced tracheostomy into medicine. However, numerous other facts are known to history. For example, the well-known case is when Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) used a sword to cut the trachea of a soldier choking on a bone, saving him from asphyxia. Talmud, a multi-volume set of legal and religious and ethical provisions of Judaism, including discussions that were conducted for about eight centuries (from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD) by the teachers of Eretz-Israel and Babylonia, contains descriptions of cases of the introduction of a cane through the trachea for the implementation of artificial respiration in a newborn child. Similar operations were also documented by Hippocrates (c. 460 - c. 377 BC) and Claudius Galen (129 - c. 200). Based on these facts, one can even dare to suggest that about 100 years before our era, tracheostomy was a common, routine operation.
In subsequent centuries, historical indications for research in the field respiratory tract Hardly ever. However, rare references in the thirteenth century referred to tracheostomy as "a semi-murder and a scandal of surgery". Such an attitude towards this operation very eloquently explains the rejection of its use in the Middle Ages.
It was not until the Renaissance that tracheostomy reappeared as an important medical procedure. If we turn to the written sources of this era, then in fact a tracheostomy for mechanical ventilation was first described in 1543 by 28-year-old Andreas Vesalius in his monumental 7-volume work On the Structure of the Human Body, the Russian translation of which takes about 2000 pages.
Today we will talk about such a great scientist as Andreas Vesalius. You will find a photo and biography of him in this article. If you can consider someone the father of anatomy, then, of course, Vesalius. This is a naturalist, creator and founder of modern anatomy. He was one of the first to study the human body through autopsy. It is from him that all later achievements in anatomy originate.
Andreas Vesalius worked in a very difficult time. The age in which he lived was marked by the dominance of the church in all areas of life, including medicine. were forbidden, and violations of this prohibition were severely punished. However, Andreas Vesalius did not intend to retreat at all. The contribution to the biology of this scientist would have been much less if he had not risked overstepping prohibitions and traditions. But, like many of those who were ahead of their time, he paid the price for his bold ideas.
Do you want to know more about such a great man as Andreas Vesalius, whose contribution to biology is invaluable? We invite you to get to know him better by reading this article.
Origin of Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (life years 1514-1564) belongs to the Viting family, who lived in Nimwegen for a long time. Several generations of his family were medical scientists. For example, Andreas' great-great-grandfather, Peter, was a rector and professor at the University of Louvain, a doctor himself. Being a bibliophile and fond of treatises on medicine, he spared no expense in acquiring manuscripts, spending part of his fortune on them. Peter wrote a commentary on the fourth book of Avicenna, the great oriental encyclopedist. The book is called The Canon of Medicine.
Andreas' great-grandfather, John, was also a teacher. He worked at the University of Louvain where he lectured in mathematics and was also a doctor. Everard, John's son and Andreas's grandfather, also followed in his father's footsteps, realizing himself in medicine. Andreas, father of Andreas Vesalius, served as an apothecary to Charles V's aunt, Princess Margaret. Francis, the younger brother of our hero, was also fond of medicine and became a doctor.
The childhood of the future scientist
On December 31, 1514, Andreas Vesalius was born. He was born in Brussels and grew up among doctors who visited his father's house. From a very young age, Andreas used the library of treatises on medicine that passed in this family from generation to generation. He developed an interest in this field of knowledge. It should be said that Andreas was unusually erudite. He memorized all the discoveries made by different authors and commented on them in his writings.
Education at the University of Louvain and the Pedagogical College
Andreas received a classical education in Brussels at the age of 16. In 1530 he became a student at the University of Louvain. It was founded in 1426 by Johann IV of Brabant. The university was closed after the French Revolution began. Students began to study there again in 1817. Here they taught Latin and Greek, rhetoric and mathematics. In order to advance in science, it was necessary to know the languages of antiquity well. Andreas, dissatisfied with teaching, moved in 1531 to the Pedagogical College, which was founded in 1517 in Louvain.
Vesalius classes in Paris
Quite early, the future scientist Andreas Vesalius became interested in anatomy. With great enthusiasm in his spare time, Andreas dissected the corpses of domestic animals and dissected them. Nicholas Florin, a friend of his father and court physician, recommended that the young man go to Paris to study medicine. Later, in 1539, Andreas dedicated to this man the work "Epistle on Bloodletting", in which he called him the second father.
So Vesalius went to Paris in 1533 to study medicine. He has been studying anatomy here for 3-4 years, listening to lectures by the Italian doctor Guido-Guidi, better known as Jacques Dubois or Sylvius, who was one of the first to study the anatomical structure of the peritoneum, vena cava, etc. on human corpses. Sylvius lectured brilliantly. Vesalius also listened to Fernel, who was called the best doctor in Europe.
However, Andreas did not confine himself to the lectures of these two physicians. He also studied with Johann Günther, who taught surgery and anatomy in Paris. He had previously lectured in Greek at the University of Louvain before moving to Paris (in 1527) where he studied anatomy. Vesalius established a cordial relationship with Gunther.
Difficulties associated with autopsy
For anatomical studies, Vesalius needed the corpses of the dead. However, this issue has always been associated with great difficulties. As you know, this occupation has never been considered a charitable deed. The Church has traditionally rebelled against him. Probably Herophilus was the only doctor who opened up corpses and was not persecuted for it. Vesalius, carried away by scientific interest, went to the cemetery of the Innocents. He also came to the place of execution of Villar de Montfaucon, where he challenged the corpse of this abbot with stray dogs.
In 1376, at the University of Montpellier, where anatomy was the main subject, doctors received permission to annually open the corpse of an executed criminal. This permission was given to them by the brother of Charles V, Louis of Anjou, who was the ruler of Languedoc. It was very important for the development of medicine and anatomy. Subsequently, this permission was confirmed by the French king, and then by Charles VIII. In 1496, the latter confirmed it with a letter.
Return to Louvain, continued exploration
Vesalius, after spending more than 3 years in Paris, returned to Louvain. Here he continued to study anatomy with Gemma Frisia, his friend, who later became a famous doctor. Making the first connected skeleton to Andreas Vesalius cost a lot of effort. Together with his friend, he stole the corpses of the executed, sometimes extracting them in parts. With danger to his life, Andreas climbed the gallows. At night, friends hid body parts in roadside bushes, after which, using various occasions, they delivered them home. At home, soft tissues were cut off, and the bones were boiled. All this had to be done in the strictest secrecy. The attitude towards official autopsies was quite different. Adrian of Blegen, burgomaster of Louvain, did not interfere with them. On the contrary, he patronized young doctors, sometimes attended autopsies.
Disputes with Driver
Andreas Vesalius argued with Driver, a lecturer at the University of Louvain, about how bloodletting should be performed. Two opposing opinions have developed on this issue. Galen and Hippocrates taught that bloodletting should be done from the side of the diseased organ. Avicenna and the Arabs believed that this should be done with opposite side. Driver supported Avicena, while Andreas supported Galen and Hippocrates. Driver was indignant at the audacity of the young doctor. However, he responded sharply. After that, Driver began to treat Vesalius with hostility. Andreas felt that it would be difficult for him to continue working in Louvain.
Vesalius goes to Venice
I had to go somewhere for a while. But where? Spain falls away - here the Church had great power, and the autopsy was considered as a desecration of the deceased. It was completely impossible. In France and Belgium, it was also very difficult to study anatomy. Therefore, Vesalius went to He was attracted by the possibility of some freedom for his anatomical studies. Founded in 1222, the University of Padua became subject to Venice in 1440. The most famous medical school in Europe was its medical faculty. Padua welcomed such a promising scientist as Andreas Vesalius, whose main achievements were known to his professors.
Andreas becomes professor
On December 5, 1537, the University of Padua awarded Vesalius at a solemn meeting a doctoral degree, with the highest honors. And after Andreas demonstrated the autopsy, he was appointed professor of surgery. The duties of Vesalius now included the teaching of anatomy. So at the age of 23, Andreas became a professor. Listeners were attracted by his bright lectures. Soon, under waving flags, to the sound of trumpets, Andreas was appointed doctor at the court of the Bishop of Padua himself.
Vesalius had an active nature. He could not come to terms with the routine that dominated the anatomy departments of various universities. Many professors simply monotonously read excerpts from the writings of Galen. The autopsy was carried out by illiterate ministers, and the lecturers stood next to the volume of Galen in their hands and from time to time pointed to various organs with a wand.
The first works of Vesalius
Vesalius in 1538 published anatomical tables. They were six sheets of drawings. The engravings were made by S. Kalkar, a student of Titian. In the same year, Vesalius republished the works of Galen. A year later, his own composition- "Letters on Bloodletting".
Andreas Vesalius, working on the publication of the works of his predecessors, became convinced that they described the structure of the human body based on the dissection of animals. In this way, erroneous information was transmitted, which was legitimized by tradition and time. Studying through autopsies human body, Vesalius accumulated facts that he boldly opposed to generally accepted canons.
"On the structure of the human body"
Andreas Vesalius for 4 years, while he was in Padua, wrote an immortal work called "On the structure of the human body" (book 1-7). It was published in 1543 in Basel and was filled with many illustrations. In this essay, Andreas Vesalius (the photo of the cover of the work is presented above) gave a description of the structure various systems and organs, pointed out the many mistakes made by his predecessors, including Galen. It should be especially noted that after the appearance of this treatise, the authority of Galen was shaken, and after a while it was completely overthrown.
The work of Vesalius marked the beginning of modern anatomy. In this work, for the first time in history, a completely scientific, and not speculative, description of the structure of the human body was given, which was based on experimental study.
Andreas Vesalius, the founder of modern anatomy, made a great contribution to its terminology on the basis of the names that he introduced in the 1st century. BC. Aulus Cornelius Celsus, "Cicero of Medicine" and "Latin Hippocrates".
Andreas brought uniformity to anatomical terminology. With rare exceptions, he threw out of it all the barbarisms of the Middle Ages. At the same time, he minimized the number of Grecisms. This can be explained to some extent by Vesalius's rejection of many provisions of Galen's medicine.
It is noteworthy that Andreas, being an innovator in anatomy, believed that the carriers of the mental are "animal spirits" produced in the ventricles of the brain. Such a notion was reminiscent of Galen's theory, since these "spirits" were simply a re-named "psychic pneuma" of which the ancients wrote.
"On the structure of the human brain"
"On the structure of the human brain" - another work of Vesalius. This is the result of his study of the achievements of his predecessors in the field of anatomy. However, not only him. Andreas Vesalius placed the results of his own research in this book. Their contribution to science was much more important than the value of describing the achievements of their predecessors. The essay was made scientific discovery, which was based on new methods of study. They were of great importance for the development of science of that time.
Diplomatically lavishing praises on Galen and marveling at the versatility of his knowledge and the vastness of his mind, Vesalius pointed only to the "inaccuracies" in the teachings of this physician. However, there were a total of more than 200 of them. In essence, they are a refutation of the most important provisions of the Galenian doctrine.
In particular, Vesalius was the first to refute his opinion that a person has holes in the heart septum through which blood allegedly passes from the right ventricle to the left. Andreas showed that the left and right ventricles do not communicate with each other in the postembryonic period. However, from the discovery of Vesalius, who refuted Galen's ideas about the physiological nature of blood circulation, the scientist could not draw the right conclusions. This succeeded subsequently only to Harvey.
The ill-fated pamphlet Sylvius
A long-brewing storm erupted after the publication of this great work by Andreas Vesalius. His teacher, Silvius, always considered the authority of Galen to be indisputable. He believed that everything that did not agree with the view or description of the great Roman was erroneous. For this reason, Sylvius rejected the discoveries made by his student. He called Andreas "slanderer", "proud", "monster", whose breath infects all of Europe. Sylvius' students supported their teacher. They also spoke out against Andreas, calling him a blasphemer and an ignoramus. However, Sylvius did not limit himself to insults alone. He wrote in 1555 a scathing pamphlet called "Refutation of the slander of a certain madman ...". In 28 chapters, Sylvius wittily ridicules his former friend and student and disowns him.
This pamphlet played a fatal role in the fate of the great scientist, who was Andreas Vesalius. His biography would probably be supplemented by many further interesting discoveries in the field of anatomy, if not for this document, imbued with jealous envy and malice. He united his enemies and created an atmosphere of public contempt around the name of Vesalius. Andreas was accused of being disrespectful to the teachings of Galen and Hippocrates. These scholars were not formally canonized by the Catholic Church, which was all-powerful at the time. However, their authority and judgment were accepted as truths. Holy Scripture. Therefore, an objection to them was equated with a rejection of the latter. Vesalius, moreover, was a student of Silvius. Therefore, if Silvius reproached his ward for slander, the accusation incriminated by him seemed plausible.
Let us note that Andreas's teacher defended the authority of Galen not disinterestedly at all. The indignation of the scientist was due to the fact that Vesalius, undermining the reputation of Galen, destroyed Silvius himself, since his knowledge was based on the texts of the classics of medicine, carefully studied and transmitted to students.
The further fate of the pulpit Andreas
Vesalius was mortally wounded by a pamphlet by Sylvius. Andreas Vesalius could not recover from this blow, whose biography from that moment on was marked by many difficulties that our hero had to face.
In Padua, there was opposition to Andreas's views. One of his most active opponents was Reald Colombo, a student of Vesalius and his deputy in the department. Colombo, after the publication of the insinuation of Sylvia, dramatically changed his attitude towards Andreas. He began to criticize him, trying to discredit the scientist in front of the students.
Vesalius left Padua in 1544. After that, Colombo was appointed to the Department of Anatomy. However, he only served as its professor for a year. In 1545 Colombo moved to the University of Pisa. And in 1551 he took the chair in Rome and worked in this city until his death. Gabriel Fallopius succeeded Colombo in the chair of Padua. He declared himself the disciple and heir of Vesalius and honorably continued his tradition.
Vesalius enters royal service
Andreas Vesalius, the founder of scientific anatomy, was driven to despair by the malicious fabrications of Sylvius. He had to stop research work. In addition, Vesalius burned some of the materials and manuscripts collected for his future works. In 1544, he was forced to switch to medical practice, entering the service of Charles V, who at that time was at war with France. As a military surgeon, Vesalius was supposed to go with him to the theater of operations.
In September 1544 the war ended. Andreas went to Brussels. Vesalius' father soon died here. After the death of his father, the scientist inherited, and he started a family. Charles V arrived in Brussels in January 1545. Andreas was to become his attending physician. Carl suffered from gout. He ate very immoderately. The doctor Andreas Vesalius made great efforts to alleviate his suffering.
In 1555 he abdicated. Vesalius began to serve Philip II, his son. The latter moved from Brussels to Madrid in 1559 with his court, and Andreas and his family followed him.
Pilgrimage to Palestine, death
Vesalius began to pursue mercilessly. He was accused of slaughtering a living person during the preparation of a corpse. Andreas Vesalius, whose contribution to medicine was enormous, was sentenced to death. Only thanks to the intercession of the king, she was replaced by another punishment - a pilgrimage to Palestine. Vesalius was to go to the Holy Sepulcher. At that time it was a difficult and dangerous journey.
Already when returning home, Andreas's ship crashed at the entrance to the Strait of Corinth. The scientist was thrown out on about. Zante. Here he fell seriously ill. On October 2, 1564, at the age of 50, the famous physician died. Andreas Vesalius was buried on this pine-covered secluded island.
The contribution to medicine of this scientist is difficult to overestimate. For its time, his achievements were simply revolutionary. Fortunately, the works of such a scientist as Andreas Vesalius were not in vain. His main discoveries were developed and supplemented by numerous followers, who appeared more and more after his death.
Vesalius (Vesalius) Andreas (1514-1564), naturalist, founder of anatomy. Born in Brussels. Vesalius' activities took place in many European countries. One of the first began to study the human body through autopsy. In his main work "On the structure of the human body" (books 1-7, 1543) he 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. Died in a shipwreck.
Vesalius Andrew (Vesalius) - the famous surgeon and founder of the latest anatomy, genus. On December 31, 1514, in Brussels, in a family that included several well-known doctors among its ancestors (his grandfather was the author of the work "Comments on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates"). V. was educated in Louvain, Paris and Montpellier, and especially devoted himself to the study of human anatomy, with danger to life, due to the prejudices of his time, taking out human corpses. They say that even V. himself, before each dissection of the corpse, fervently asked for forgiveness from God because, in the interests of science, he was looking for the secret of life in death. Soon he gained fame as an experienced surgeon and was invited to lecture on anatomy in Basel, Padua, Bologna and Pisa. In 1543, V. published his famous Op. "De corporis humani fabrica libri septem" (Basel), which opened a new era in the history of anatomy: the authority of Galen was finally overthrown and human anatomy was placed on the basis of an accurate experimental study. W.'s writing provoked, as one would expect, fierce attacks from obscurantist doctors, against whom V. defended himself with several polemical writings. Since 1544, as a medical officer of Emperor Charles V, V. accompanied him on all his travels, but under his son, Philip II, the Spanish Inquisition managed to seize the long-watched enemy. Accused that during the autopsy the heart of the deceased showed some signs of life, V. 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, a storm threw the unfortunate scientist to the island of Zante, where he died (1564). Complete Op. V. published by Boergav and Albin (Leiden, 2 vols., 1725). About V., see Portal's "History of Anatomy" and Galler's "Bibliotheca anatomica". See V.'s biography in Burgava (Ghent, 1841), Mersman (Bruges, 1845), Weinat (Louvain, 1846).
F. Brockhaus, I.A. Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels into a family of hereditary physicians. Andreas studied first at school, and then at the University of Louvain, where he received a versatile education, studied Greek and Latin, thanks to which he could get acquainted with the works of scientists already in his youth. Obviously, he read a lot of 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 the executed.
Vesalius at the age of seventeen went to the University of Montpellier, and in 1533 he first appeared at the medical faculty of the University of Paris to listen to the lectures of the anatomist Sylvius. Young Vesalius was already able to critically approach 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 the natural sciences, forbade the autopsy of human corpses, considering it blasphemy. In order to be able to do anatomy, he used every opportunity: he negotiated with the cemetery watchman, and then a corpse suitable for autopsy fell into his hands. If there was no money, he, hiding from the watchman, opened the grave himself, without his knowledge.
Vesalius studied the bones of the human and animal skeleton so well that he could name any bone by touch without looking at them.
After receiving his doctorate in 1537, Vesalius began teaching anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. He lectured and continued his research. The deeper he studied the internal structure of the body, the more he became convinced that there were many very significant errors in Galen's teachings that those who were under the influence of Galen's authority simply did not notice.
For four long years he worked on his work. He studied, translated and republished the works of medical scientists of the past, his anatomist predecessors. He set himself the goal of solving the great task of correctly describing the location, shape and function of the organs of the human body.
The result of the work of the scientist was the famous treatise "On the structure of the human body" in seven books, which appeared in 1543. The work of Vesalius excited the minds of scientists. The boldness of his scientific thought was so unusual that, along with the followers who appreciated his discoveries, he had many enemies. The famous Silvius, the teacher of Vesalius, called Vesalius "Vezanus", which means - insane.
Most eminent physicians took the side of Sylvius. They joined his demand to curb and punish Vesalius, who dared to criticize the great Galen.
Having opened dozens of corpses, having carefully studied the human skeleton, Vesalius came to the conclusion that the opinion that men have one rib less than women is completely wrong. But such a belief went beyond medical science. It affected church doctrine.
It was believed that in the human skeleton there is a bone that does not burn in fire, is indestructible. With the help of this bone, a person will be resurrected in a day doomsday to appear before God. Vesalius bluntly stated that, while examining the human skeleton, he did not find a mysterious bone.
The scientist continued to teach at the University of Padua, but every day the atmosphere around him heated up more and more. At this time, he received an invitation from the Spanish Emperor Charles V to take the place of the court physician. The court of the emperor was at that time in Brussels. Vesalius's father was still serving Charles, and the young professor accepted the emperor's offer.
All free time Vesalius gave the treatise "On the structure of the human body." He made corrections, additions, clarified what seemed to him not entirely convincing. Using every opportunity, he was engaged in anatomy.
He managed to publish his treatise "On the structure of the human body" in the second edition.
Under the successor of Charles V, Philip II, the severe prohibitions of the church on dissecting corpses again touched Vesalius. He was charged with dissecting a living person.
In 1564, leaving his family in Brussels, he set off on a long journey. On the way back from Jerusalem in a shipwreck, the sick Vesalius was thrown onto the island of Zante (Greece), where he died in 1564.
Reprinted from http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
