Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 18-19. (Budapest, 2000)

Pictures from the Past of the Healing Arts - Guide to the Exhibition

for ficld-surgcons. Note that their shape did hardly change from the medieval times well until the 19th century. c) The discovery of blood-circulation Galen (130-200 AD)

' whose genius inspired medicine for one and a half millenia but whose inßuence obstructed progress as well

' — had already recognized that blood is moving in the arteries but could not solve the question of circulation completely. Erroneously, he considered the liver as the central organ of the vascular system and the producer of fresh blood. He also believed that blood could pass through the separating heart wall (i.e. from the right into the left ventricle). He described the directions of blood movements and the location of the arteries quite correctly, but did not recognize the continuous circulation of blood. Galen's physiological system is shown in a diagram. Vesalius had already ascertained that the septum between the right and left ventricles is complete, though he could not completely deny the existence of invisible pores, which were mentioned by Galen. Realdo Colombo (1516-1559) a pupil of Vesalius who succedcd him in his chair at Padua, and who gave lessons in anatomy to Michelangelo dealt with the same question too. In his major book, the De re anatómiça libri XV (Venice 1559) he pointed out that there was no movement through the heart's dividing wall between the auricles and ventricles and also that blood was oxygenated in the lungs. Another forerunner of the discovery of blood-circulation was Miguel de Serveto (Michel Seruetus, Villanovanus, de Villcneufvc) (1511-1553), a Spanish physician and theologian who discovered the lesser or pulmonary circulation. He mentioned in his major theologian work, the Christian¿ restitutio (Vienna 1553) that according to the complete separation of the two ventriclcs and the large size of pulmonary arteries, there is a communication in the lungs by which blood passes from the pulmonary artery to the pulmonary vein. It was discovered in 1924, however, that Ibn an-Nafis (1210-1288) an Arabic physician of the 13th century 'had already formulated that the interventricular septum is solid and he also referred to the pulmonary circulation.'' The anatomical interest of the University of Padua, preserving Vcsalius's heritage greatly contributed to the discovery of blood circulation. Johannes Caius (Kces, Keys or Kay) (1510-1573), who was the second founder by his generous donation of the Goldwille and Caius College at Cambridge in 1557, had studied anatomy under the celebrated Vesalius and Montanus at Padua in the 1530s. By obtaining a grant in 1564 for the collcgc to have annually the bodies of two malefactors for disscction Dr Caius becamc a pioneer in advancing the study of anatomy in England, and had an intermediate role in Harvey's discovery. William Harvey (1578-1657) was born five years after Caius's death. He was educated at the Caius College, Cambridge. Then, as many students from this collcgc, proceeded to Padua to study medicine under Hyeronimus Fabricius abAquapendente (Girolamo Fabrizi) (1537-1619). Fabricius the eminent teacher had set 37