Andreas Vesalius Causes

What were the causes of Andreas Vesalius’ major influence in the field of anatomy?

In Patricia Fara’s Science: A Four Thousand Year History, Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) is introduced as a scientific revolutionary. Passionate to restore ancient knowledge, he followed the footsteps of Galen, stating that not texts written about the human body, but the human body itself needs to be examined for the best understanding of how it works. However, Galen examined animal corpses, because he did not have the opportunity to dissect human corpses. Therefore, when Vesalius began to dissect human corpses, he came across major discrepancies between Galen’s theories of how the human body works, based on animal bodies, and how the human body actually works,

This in combination with an increasing salary and the intellectual climate where he was in, enabled him to work on what would eventually become his masterpiece, De humani corporis fabrica. In 1542, the illustrated woodcuts of this book were transported to Switzerland, where Johannes Oporinus, famous for the quality of his work, printed it. Furthermore, Vesalius managed to obtain privileges that would protect his work from unauthorized copying. A reason that he chose to publish his book in Basel instead of Venice, might have been that Basel was located at the Rhine, therefore making the distribution of his work into Northern Europe much easier. During his stay in Basel he also wrote a summary of his works, consisting of six chapters and nine illustrations, designed specifically for students. For Charles V, a very expensive copy of De humani Corporis Fabrica was made and colored by hand, which gave the emperor so much pleasure that he decided to appoint Vesalius as a member of the emperor’s medical staff. Before he started to work fulltime at the courts, he made one last trip to Italy, his lecture in Padua was attended by 500 people, a clear sign of his