Andreas Vesalius Research Paper

ANDREAS VESALIUS
Andreas Vesalius, the father of modern anatomy was born in Brussels in 1514 and died in 1564. Throughout his life of 49 years, Vesalius challenged medical theories with a thirst for learning and discovery. Born into a wealthy family with his father as a pharmacist at the court of Margret of Austria, he received a privileged education from six years old. In 1537, Vesalius gained his doctorate and became a professor of Surgery and Anatomy at the University of Padua. He valued lifelong learning which contributed to his revolutionary works and methods demonstrating the spirit of a Renaissance man. He also used his intelligence to gain understanding across many different areas such as art. Vesalius’ family background, universal

His greatest work “De humani corporis fabrica libri septem” (Fabric of the human body in seven books) “laid a solid foundation for the understanding of the vast human anatomy” [Source 3]. This book included detailed drawings of human bodies as well as precise descriptions of human body parts. His work challenged anatomical understanding and was “actually considered to be the earliest accurate presentation of human body” [Source 8]. Vesalius’s discoveries were the basis of human anatomy, he was the first to specifically and accurately explain the human body, which is crucial to current medical and anatomical understanding. Vesalius has proven Galen wrong numerous times as “Vesalius discovered that the skull’s mandible consists of bone which contradicts Galen’s predictions that the mandible was two separate bones in the head” [Source 11] and “The sternum has three parts, not seven as Galen claimed on the basis of ape dissections.” [Source 10] This indicates Vesalius was continuously trying to improve as he continuously corrected what Galen and people believed was correct. Thus Vesalius’ great contribution to science demonstrates his universal impact as a Renaissance

Vesalius possessed traits of a typical Renaissance and had a good attitude towards trying out and experimenting. He was always striving for excellence and was critical, “constantly telling his students to check their work every time and even his [own] as his could contain a slight mistake as well [Source 9]” This evidence shows Vesalius’ was always striving for perfection and did not allow a single mistake. Vesalius was a physical evidence based scientist as he “held the belief that the study of human anatomy should be based on visible proof gained from dissecting human bodies. [Source 5]” Vesalius himself quoted, “Aristotle and many others say men have more teeth than women; it is no harder for anyone to test this than it is for me to say it is false, since no one is prevented from counting teeth. [Source 2]” These sources indicate Vesalius likes to experience experiments by hand to prove something in a practical way not theoretically. Just like the Renaissance men he likes to try out experiments by himself physically. Vesalius have multiple good character personalities such as striving for accuracy and likes to prove beliefs with physical evidence. These traits are all possessed by a Renaissance man.
While Vesalius was a man who demonstrated the Renaissance spirit, he was also possibly a murderer. Vesalius was accused of murdering a Spanish noble, whose heart was possibly still beating