 |
(continued)
Major Work
Vesalius's commitment to actual observing was much in evidence in his edition of some
of Galen's works in 1540 but especially in his epoch-making DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
LIBRI SEPTEM (SEVEN BOOKS ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HUMAN BODY), published in 1543 in
Basel. Book 1 on the bones was generally correct but represented no major advance.
Book 2 on the muscles was a masterpiece. Book 3 on blood vessels was exactly the
opposite. Somewhat better was book 4 on the nerves, a great advance on everything
written on the topic before, but it was largely outmoded a century later. Excellent was his
treatment in book 5 of the abdominal organs. Book 6 dealt with the chest and neck,
while book 7 was devoted to the brain. Some of the woodcut illustrations of the FABRICA
are among the best of 16th-century drawings and probably were executed by Jan
Stephan van Calcar. Vesalius's own drawings were of moderate value. The revolutionary
aspect of the work was the dominating role of observation as the very foundation of
progress in anatomy. The importance of the large folio was immediately recognized by
the fact that almost simultaneously with the original an epitome of it was published.
Vesalius was, like some other geniuses of his age, such as Copernicus and Thomas
More, a daring innovator and a strong traditionalist at the same time. Thus Vesalius, the
meticulous observer, did not part with Galen as far as theory was concerned. He was also
a child of his age in carefully paving his way into the imperial court. No sooner was his
FABRICA published than he sought service on the medical staff of Charles V and was
immediately accepted.
In 1544 Vesalius married Anne von Hamme and also increased his holdings by a
substantial inheritance from his father. In 1546 came his LETTER ON THE CHINESE ROOT, on a
worthless but very popular medicine. The letter's true significance derived from the fact
that in it Vesalius replied to the detractors of his FABRICA and corrected some of its
erroneous statements. From 1553 on Vesalius had private practice as a physician in
Brussels, and in 1556 his official ties with the court of Charles V came to an end.
The second edition of the FABRICA, in 1555, contained many improvements on the first,
but in retrospect it was also a disappointment. One wonders about the new course
medicine might have taken, had Vesalius dedicated himself completely to the cause of
anatomical research. Some time after the accession of Philip II to the imperial throne,
Vesalius became again one of the imperial physicians. Vesalius's absence from medical
schools showed itself in his EXAMINATION OF GABRIELE FALLOPIO'S ANATOMIC OBSERVATIONS (1561),
in which he had to avoid passing judgment on a number of points in Fallopio's book
because he had no way of verifying them.
It is a moot question whether Vesalius used a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1564 as a
pretext to leave Spain and the imperial court. Some claimed that he went to the Holy
Land to study medicinal plants on the plains of Jericho, a topic on which he is known to
have discoursed on his way there. Vesalius might have very well made the pilgrimage out
of devotion, as did many millions before and after him. Upon his return from Jerusalem
he was to take the chair of the suddenly deceased Fallopio in Padua, but he died on the
island of Zenta off the Greek coast.
Further Readings
- The standard scholarly presentation of Vesalius's life and work is Charles Donald O'Malley, ANDREAS VESALIUS OF BRUSSELS (1964). O'Malley is also the coauthor with J. B. de C. M. Saunders of THE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE WORKS OF ANDREAS VESALIUS OF BRUSSELS (1950). Jerome Tarshis, FATHER OF MODERN ANATOMY: ANDREAS VESALIUS (1969), is written in the popular vein and with a somewhat tendentious pen. The bibliography of the various editions of Vesalius's works, together with a list of Vesaliana and with many facsimiles of the title pages, is given in Harvey Cushing, A BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ANDREAS VESALIUS (1962).
|
|
