ANDRÉS VESALIO: BIOGRAPHY, CONTRIBUTIONS AND WORKS - ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY - 2024

Andrés Vesalio was a Brussels-born anatomist who modernized anatomical knowledge about the human body. His real name was Andries van Wesel; there is another Latinized version of his name: Andreas Vesalius. At the time he lived (16th century), knowledge about the human body was based on the work of Galen.

However, this science had always had the problem of the taboo that existed to dissect human bodies. Galen of Pergamon himself drew much of his conclusions by studying monkeys and other animals. Vesalius had no qualms about using human corpses for his research, so his results were much more accurate.

His culminating work, De Humani Corporis Fabrica, is considered an authentic work of art, not only because of its conclusions, but also because of the engravings it incorporated. Apart from his work as a theoretician, Vaselio was an imperial physician in the court of Carlos V, and later in that of Felipe II.

Biography

Andrés Vesalio, Andreas Vesalio or Andries van Wesel, depending on what you want to call him, was born in Brussels on December 31, 1514 in Brussels. In his family there was a tradition in medicine, specifically as doctors of the German emperors.

Vesalius studied during his childhood in Brussels and in Louvain. Among the teachings received were several leagues, such as Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic.

According to the biographers, he showed interest in biology very early on and it seems that he began to dissect animals very early.

Studies

When he was 28 years old, Vesalius traveled to Paris to start studying medicine. For the next three years he studied with Professors Jacobo Silvio and Von Andernach, but was quickly disappointed. Apparently the teachers considered the matter too complicated and only explained a small part.

Despite this, Vesalius fell in love with the matter and tried to delve into it on his own. The way to do it was to steal some bones from the graveyard, and thus complete their training. In these first dissections he had Miguel Servet as a companion.

The war between Francisco I and Carlos V caused that it had to leave Paris and move to Louvain, where it remained two years. In that city he achieved the degree of bachelor in 1537. It was also there that he published his first work, the Paraphrasis in nonum librum Rhazae ad Almansorem, comparing Arabic knowledge with those bequeathed by Galen.

After this stage he went to Italy. He finished his journey in Padua, entering the city's medical school. It was at that university that he obtained his doctorate. He read his test on December 5, 1537 and, just the next day, he held the position of Professor of Surgery at the center.

First controversy

It was then that he starred in the first controversy for his methods. It all started when, instead of following the tradition of teaching from his chair, he approached the corpse and showed the organs to which the lesson referred. In addition, he made some drawings to facilitate understanding, at a time when treatises did not carry illustrations.

Despite the uproar, his colleagues at the university welcomed the illustrations Vaselio had commissioned.

It was during those years that Vaselius abandoned the pursuit of Galen's teachings. His investigations in corpses showed him the errors that existed in the works of the same, so he decided to publish his own treatise on anatomy.

Imperial medic

Vesalius published his treatise and later received an offer to become an imperial physician at the court of Charles V. Despite requests from the Medici that he stay in Pisa, he eventually accepted the offer and moved to court.

There he aroused certain reluctance among other doctors, who called him a "barber", despising his habit of working with corpses.

The doctor held the position for the next 12 years, in which he traveled following the court through much of Europe. Besides, he did not stop publishing theoretical works on various topics. When Carlos V abdicated, Vesalius continued working at court, now under the orders of Felipe II.

In 1564 he decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. For a long time it has been thought that he did not travel of his own free will, but was the way to avoid a condemnation to the stake by the Inquisition for his practices. However, current historians consider that explanation to be nothing more than a legend.

During the pilgrimage, his ship was forced to dock on the island of Zante. There, with only 50 years old, Andrés Vesalio died October 15, 1564.

Contributions

Andrés Vesalio revolutionized the knowledge of human anatomy, until then based on Galen's experiments with monkeys.

The first contribution is the aforementioned change in anatomy studies. Thanks to his work, Galen's books are replaced by others much closer to reality. His dissections were very useful in understanding the human body.

Similarly, he was the first to accurately describe various parts of the body. To give a few examples, he made the first correct description of the sphenoid, proved that the sternum was made up of three parts, and perfectly drew the interior of the temporal bone.

Finally, the way he presented his findings was a revolution. As mentioned before, books on the subject did not usually have illustrations, which made it difficult to understand the texts.

Those published by Vesalius not only incorporated them, but were made by painters from workshops as important as Titian's.

Plays

Vesalius published numerous pamphlets explaining his knowledge. His contributions were always revolutionary, but there are some works that stand out above others.

By Humani Corporis Fabrica

It is undoubtedly his most important work. It was published in 1543, in the city of Basel. It is an anatomical treatise divided into seven volumes that the author dedicated to Carlos V. The translation of its title would be “on the structure of the human body”.

One of the most striking aspects are the illustrations that accompany the texts. The general opinion is that they are works by different authors, some from the Titian school. Domenico Campagola and Vesalius himself also participated in its elaboration.

As a sign of the importance the author attached to teaching, the year after the treatise appeared he published a shorter version for the use of students.

One of the aspects that appears prominently in the work is the importance given to dissection and what from that moment on was called "anatomical" vision.

The seven volumes are divided by themes. The first deals with bones and cartilage; the second, of the ligaments and muscles; and the third on veins and arteries.

The fourth volume talks about the nerves, the fifth describes the digestive systems, the sixth talks about the heart and auxiliary organs;, and the seventh, is dedicated to the central nervous system.

Epistola docens venam axillarem dextri cubiti in dolre laterali secandam

It was commissioned by Carlos V's doctor, who wanted a description of the venous system. In his research, the author discovered the greater azygos vein and how it reached the superior vena cava.

References

1. EcuRed. Andreas Vesalius. Obtained from ecured.cu
2. Fence. The anatomical revolution of Andrés Vesalio. Obtained from lacerca.com
3. History of medicine. Andrew Vesalius (1514-1564). Obtained from historiadelamedicina.org
4. Florkin, Marcel. Andreas Vesalius. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. Famous Scientists. Andreas Vesalius. Retrieved from famousscientists.org
6. BBC. Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). Retrieved from bbc.co.uk

7. TheFamousPeople. Andreas Vesalius Biography. Retrieved from thefamouspeople.com