Chapter I: Preface

In the annals of the medical profession the name of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels holds a place second to none. Every physician has heard of him, yet few know the details of his life, the circumstances under which his labors were carried out, the extent of those labors, or their far-reaching influence upon the progress of anatomy, physiology and surgery. Comparatively few physicians have seen his works; and fewer still have read them. The reformation which he inaugurated in anatomy, and incidentally in other branches of medical science, has left only a dim impress upon the minds of the busy, science-loving physicians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. That so little should be known about him is not surprising, since his writings were in Latin and were published prior to the middle of the sixteenth century. His books, which at one time were in the hands of all the scientific physicians of Europe, are now rarely encountered beyond the walls of the great medical libraries of the world. They are among the _incunabula_ of the medical literature. That English-speaking physicians know little of Vesalian literature is due to the fact that no extensive biography of the great anatomist has appeared in our language. Most of the Vesalian literature which has been written by English and American authors has been in the form of brief articles for the medical press; these oftentimes have been incorrect and unillustrated. Perhaps the best example of this class is the article by Mr. Henry Morley which appeared originally in _Fraser’s Magazine_, in 1853, and later was published in his _Clement Marot and Other Studies_, in 1871. The chief data for Vesalius’s biography are to be found in his own writings, in the archives of the Universities in which he taught, and in the controversial literature of the period. Extensive as are these sources they leave much to be desired. A vast mass of Vesalian literature was printed, chiefly in the Latin language, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Much of it is based on insufficient evidence or on national prejudice. The Germans, the French, the Dutch and the Italians have all taken a turn at it. In modern times the monumental work of Roth, _Andreas Vesalius Bruxellensis_, Berlin, 1892, has served to epitomize this literature and to make clear many points which formerly were not understood. I have taken Roth’s book as a basis for this monograph, without using the voluminous references which are found in the work of this thorough historian.

The man who overthrew the authority of Galen; revolutionized the teaching of the structure of the human body; started anatomical, physiological, and surgical investigation in the right channels; first correctly illustrated his dissections; destroyed ancient dogmas, and made many new discoveries—this man, Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, deserves the name which Morley has given him, “the Luther of Anatomy.”

At long intervals a bright particular star appears in the intellectual horizon, endowed with genius of such a superlative order as seemingly to comprise within itself the whole domain of an entire science. These men do not belong to any particular epoch in the development of the human mind. They are the eternal symbols of progress, and their history is the history of the science which they profess. Such men were Bacon, Galileo, Descartes, Newton, Lavoisier, and Bichat; and such also was Andreas Vesalius the anatomist. Young, enthusiastic, courageous and diligent, Vesalius dared to contradict the authority of Galen, corrected the anatomical mistakes of thirteen centuries and before his thirtieth year published the most accurate, complete, and best illustrated treatise on anatomy that the world had ever seen. His industry, the success which crowned his efforts, the jealousies which his discoveries aroused in the breasts of his contemporaries, the honors which were conferred upon him by Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second, his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and his tragic death—these are events which deserve to be chronicled by an abler pen than mine.

The year 1543 marks the date of a revolution which was won, not by force of arms but by the scalpel of an anatomist and the hand of an artist. The whole of human anatomy, as a study involving correct descriptions of the component parts of the body and accurate delineations thereof, may be said to have been founded by Andreas Vesalius and Jan Stephan van Calcar. As light pouring into a prism attracts little notice until it emerges in iridescent hues, so it was with anatomy: after passing through the brain of Vesalius it bore rich fruit which has been gathered by many hands. To turn from the writings of Galen, Mondino, Hundt, Peyligk, Phryesen, and Berengario da Carpi to the beauties of Vesalius’s _De Humani Corporis Fabrica_ is like passing from darkness into sunlight. To both anatomists and artists this book was a revelation. For more than a century after its appearance the anatomists of Europe did little more than make additions to, and compose commentaries upon the conjoint triumph of Vesalius and van Calcar. For more than two centuries the osteologic and myologic figures of the _Fabrica_ formed the basis of all treatises on Art-Anatomy.

JAMES MOORES BALL.

Saint Louis,
MDCCCCX.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1-16
The Study of Medical History—The General Renaissance—The
Anatomical Renaissance.
ANATOMY IN ANCIENT TIMES 17-28
Anatomy in Egypt and in Greece—Hippocrates and the
Asclepiadae—Alcmaeon, Empedocles and Aristotle—Early Roman
Medicine—The Alexandrian University—Herophilus and
Erasistratus—Claudius Galenus—The School of
Salernum—Frederick II.
MONDINO, THE RESTORER OF ANATOMY 29-36
Life of Mondino—He restores the Study of Practical Anatomy—His
Book on Anatomy.
MONDINO’S SUCCESSORS 37-51
Gabriel de Zerbi—John Peyligk—Magnus Hundt—Laurentius
Phryesen—Alexander Achillinus—Berengario da Carpi—John
Dryander—Charles Estienne.
VESALIUS’S EARLY LIFE 52-55
Origin of the Vesalius Family—Early Life of the
Anatomist—Vesalius enters the University of Louvain.
SOJOURN IN PARIS 56-69
Vesalius goes to Paris to study Medicine—Celebrated Parisian
Physicians of the Sixteenth Century—Jacobus
Sylvius—Joannes Guinterius—Jean Fernel—Philosophy of
Pierre de la Rameé—State of Anatomy at this Period.
VESALIUS RETURNS TO LOUVAIN 70-72
Vesalius returns to Louvain—He conducts a Course in
Anatomy—Secures a Skeleton.
PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY IN PADUA 73-80
Vesalius goes to Venice, thence to Padua—Receives the Degree
of Doctor of Medicine—He is appointed Professor of
Anatomy—His method of Teaching—Lectures also in Bologna.
FIRST CONTRIBUTION TO ANATOMY 81-83
Vesalius issues a Series of Anatomical Plates under the title
“Tabulae Anatomicae”—His Plates are extensively pirated.
PUBLICATION OF THE FABRICA 84-94
The Manuscript and Illustrations for the Fabrica are
transported to Basel—Joannes Oporinus, the noted Printer
and Greek Scholar—Publication of the Fabrica—Beauty of the
Illustrations—Who was the unnamed Artist?—The Plates were
erroneously ascribed to Titian—Christoforo Coriolano—Jan
Stephan van Calcar—Popularity of the Illustrations among
Artists and Anatomists.
PUBLICATION OF THE EPITOME 95-97
Publication of the Epitome—Reasons for its
Publication—Character of the Work.
CONTENTS OF THE FABRICA 99-113
General Plan of the Book—A brief Review of its Contents—The
First Book, on Osteology—Vesalius’s Contributions to the
Anatomy of the Bones—The Second Book, on Ligaments and
Muscles—Excellence of this Part of the “Fabrica”—The Third
Book, on the Veins and Arteries—The Fourth Book, on the
Nerves—The Fifth Book, on the Organs of Nutrition—The
Sixth Book, on the Heart—Vesalius’s Idea of the
Circulation—Quotation from his Book—The Seventh Book, on
the Brain and the Organs of Sense—Conclusion.
CONTEMPORARY ANATOMISTS 114-125
The publication of the Fabrica is followed by great activity
among Anatomists—Bartholomeus Eustachius—Realdus
Columbus—Gabriel Fallopius—John Philip Ingrassias.
COMMENTATORS AND PLAGIARISTS 126-129
Plagiarism in Medicine—William Cowper and Bidloo’s
Plates—Pirated editions of the “Tabulae Anatomicae”—Thomas
Geminus’s editions of the “Fabrica”—The Microcosmographia
of Helkiah Crooke—John Banister’s Book—Juan Valverde di
Hamusco’s work on Anatomy—Best editions of the “Fabrica”.
THE COURT PHYSICIAN 130-132
Vesalius is appointed Archiatrus to Charles the Fifth—He
follows the Emperor in his Journeys—Abdication of
Charles—Vesalius is appointed Archiatrus to Philip the
Second.
PILGRIMAGE AND DEATH 133-136
Vesalius leaves Madrid—He visits Venice, then goes to Cyprus,
and passes on to Jerusalem—Reason for the Pilgrimage—Death
of Vesalius.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Andreas Vesalius—from the “Epitome”, 1543 Frontispiece
PAGE
Andreas Vesalius—van Kalker p.; I. Troijen s.—from an old
copperplate engraving XVIII.
Initial Letter—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 16
Hippocrates 17
Aristotle 19
Alexander the Great 20
Ptolemy Soter 21
Galen 24
Mondino’s Diagram of the Heart 31
Anatomical Demonstration in 1493 33
Title-page of Mondino’s Anatomy by Melerstat 34
Colophon of the Anatomy of Mondino 36
Anatomical Plate by Ricardus Hela, 1493 38
Peyligk’s Diagram of the Heart, 1499 39
Anatomical Figure from Magnus Hundt, 1501 40
Anatomical Figure from Laurentius Phryesen, 1518 41
Alexander Achillinus 42
Dissection by Berengario, 1535 43
Skeleton by Berengario, 1523 44
Muscles by Berengario, 1521 45
Muscles by Berengario, 1521 46
Dryander 47
Anatomical Figure by Estienne, 1545 48
Skeleton by Estienne, 1545 49
Skull by Dryander, 1541 51
The Old University of Louvain 54
Sylvius 57
Winter of Andernach 62
Jean Fernel 64
Ramus 66
Vivisection of a Pig—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 69
Instruments used in Dissection—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 74
Initial Letter—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 80
View of the City of Basel in the Sixteenth Century 83
Joannes Oporinus 85
Mark of Oporinus—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 86
Jan Stephan van Calcar—from Sandrart’s “Teutsche Academie”, 1685 88
Second Vesalian Plate of the Muscles—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 90
Ninth Vesalian Plate of the Muscles—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 92
A Human Skull resting on the Skull of a Dog—from the “Fabrica”,
1543 94
Title-page of Vesalius’s “Epitome”, 1543 96
Skeleton by Vesalius—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 98
Fifth Vesalian Plate of the Muscles—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 100
Deep Muscles of the Back by Vesalius—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 102
Part of the First Text-page of the “Fabrica”, 1543 103
Plate of the Arterial Tree by Vesalius—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 104
Dissection of the Abdomen by Vesalius—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 106
Dissection of the Heart by Vesalius—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 107
Initial Letter—from the “Fabrica”, 1543 113
Brain and Nerves by Eustachius 116
Muscles by Eustachius 117
Title-page of Columbus’s Anatomy 120
Gabriel Fallopius 122
Ingrassias 125
Charles the Fifth 131
Philip the Second 133