Leonardo Da Vinci's Accomplishments

In the middle of the Scientific Revolution, another breakthrough occurred. “I discovered little creatures in the rain which had stood but a few days in a new tub that was painted blue within.” Anton Van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery was that of bacteria. His microscopic marvels intrigued, he Holy Roman Emperor and Queen Mary of England as well as contemporary scientists. Leeuwenhoek suggested that he was seeing little creatures, or animalcules as he called them in pools of water. After further microscopic evaluations, he realized that plaque was teeming with them, and that heat can eradicate them. His most profound discovery regarding animalcules, however, might be the fact that animalcules increase in numbers coincidentally when people are sick.

More often than not, acclaimed portraits such as the Mona Lisa, overshadow the majority of Leonardo’s fame. In a self-written resume da Vinci himself explained his qualities as a scientist, rather than an artist, stating “I can construct bridges which are very light and strong and very protable…” and “I can also make a kind of cannon…” Therefore, it is to pertinent to note that his career in science, spanning years, has been extraordinarily impactful. Before da Vinci, much of anatomy was still structured on the basis of Galen, who lived in the second century A.D. with theories that have been debunked on multiple occasions. Leonardo da Vinci questioned much of the aforementioned scientist’s beliefs. During his time in Florence, Italy, Leonardo dissected over thirty human corpses and conducted experiments noting how parts of the body work. He also discovered the correlation between the eye and the brain, by finding the optic nerve. In addition, he was the first to note how nerves link the brain to muscles. His discoveries went beyond Galen’s widely followed beliefs, such as the body being composed of four liquid humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood) almost to the point of disproving the majority of them

His main publication would be that of Fabrica in which he explains the human body in seven various books. Book one primarily deals with the skeleton, book two with muscles, and books three to seven about various organs and organ systems. Many accounts deem Vesalius’s books as original. However, many believe that Vesalius plagiarized the works of da Vinci, with discoveries so similar, it is almost impossible to note the differences. Nevertheless, Vesaliu’s work (whether inspired by da Vinci or not) led to physicians in the contemporary era learning not by simply studying the works of Galen, but by performing their own dissections in order to learn about the human anatomy. In fact, the developments under Vesalius are still used by scientists and doctors in medical schools today. The initial week of medical school involves the dissection of a human cadaver to invoke wonder of the human anatomy. Therefore, the works of Galen, da Vinci, and Vesalius, whether proven or invalidated, retain their eminent qualities that have founded and shaped the practices and beliefs of modern day