Have you or someone you know ever had surgery? Something as simple as a broken arm or something more complex, like open-heart surgery? If so, your life has been directly impacted by the life of Andreas Vesalius. Andreas Vesalius was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1514. His grandfather and great-grandfather were both physicians and his father was a pharmacist. He found a love for anatomy at an early age, and started his medical studies at age sixteen. He studied under, then assisted, Jacob Sylvius, and soon began to disagree with the ways of previous anatomists. Over time, Andreas Vesalius made groundbreaking discoveries and disproved dozens of theories, earning him title of the founder of the modern science of anatomy. In honor of his courage
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The current head anatomist, Galen, believed in things based on what was written in the bible. For example, he, and majority of the populace, believed that men had one less rib than women due to the fact that Adam had used one of his ribs to create Eve. Galen and other anatomists in the sixteenth century had never been able to disprove this idea because the Roman Catholic Church had placed a strict ban on human dissection, most likely in order to keep anatomists like Vesalius from casting doubt on the church. In order to learn about anatomy, scientists had to rely on dissections of only animals, such as apes. Galen believed that we were fairly similar in anatomical structure to apes, and based many theories on this belief. By breaking the rules and performing human dissections, Vesalius learned that humans are extremely different from apes and was able to learn more about the actual anatomy of humans. Andreas Vesalius had the courage to go against all that had come before him, as well as challenge older and wiser anatomist and church officials to find the truth. He once said, “I am not accustomed to saying anything with certainty after only one or two observations.” This quote further proves that he would not stop researching until he got to the truth, even if it meant he had to gain a few enemies along the
The current head anatomist, Galen, believed in things based on what was written in the bible. For example, he, and majority of the populace, believed that men had one less rib than women due to the fact that Adam had used one of his ribs to create Eve. Galen and other anatomists in the sixteenth century had never been able to disprove this idea because the Roman Catholic Church had placed a strict ban on human dissection, most likely in order to keep anatomists like Vesalius from casting doubt on the church. In order to learn about anatomy, scientists had to rely on dissections of only animals, such as apes. Galen believed that we were fairly similar in anatomical structure to apes, and based many theories on this belief. By breaking the rules and performing human dissections, Vesalius learned that humans are extremely different from apes and was able to learn more about the actual anatomy of humans. Andreas Vesalius had the courage to go against all that had come before him, as well as challenge older and wiser anatomist and church officials to find the truth. He once said, “I am not accustomed to saying anything with certainty after only one or two observations.” This quote further proves that he would not stop researching until he got to the truth, even if it meant he had to gain a few enemies along the