jan 1, 1628 - William Harvey
Publishes Book
Description:
|1628|
William Harvey was inspired by Vesalius and went on to influence many other such as Sydenham). He publishes his book 'An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals' which contained detailed diagrams.
Harvey studied at medicine at Cambridge, then taught at the Collage of Physicians before becoming a Royal Physician for James I. This role as Royal Physician gave him a lot of credibility and helped spread his ideas on circulation.
He proved Vesalius' theory that blood flows one-way to the heart which contradicted Galen. He then proved that blood couldn't be produced in the liver and absorbed in the body like Galen had suggested. He was inspired by new technology such as mechanical pumps, he thought the body must work in the same way. He then discovered that arteries, veins and the heart were all part of one system that pumped blood.
Harvey was so important because:
- He further disproved Galen's theories bringing question to his remaining theories.
- He improved medical knowledge
- His knowledge was passed on (by 1700 his work was being taught in schools)
- His work had credibility
- He revolutionised scientific methods of observation, observation and dissection were copied by others and brought results
- His findings left unanswered questions which encouraged other experiments and discoveries
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