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Advances in Human Anatomy: from the Rare Books Collection
Falk Library of the Health Sciences has an extensive collection in the History of Medicine, with volumes dating from 1496 to the present. A strength of the collection is the atlases and texts detailing the study of human anatomy, ranging from the era prior to dissection of human cadavers, to pioneering anatomical studies of the Renaissance, to beautiful anatomical atlases produced in France and Germany during the 18th and 19th centuries. For more than 1300 years, the study of anatomy by European physicians was based primarily on the writings attributed to second-century A.D. Greek physician Galen of Pergamon. Since dissection of human cadavers in ancient Greece was not socially or culturally tolerated, Galen’s work was informed by his dissection of other animal species, primarily the barbary ape. During the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, Galen’s texts were accepted as definitive medical information on human anatomy. Many of Galen’s writings are contained in the multi-volume work, Medicorum graecorum opera quae exstant [The Extant Works of Greek Medical Writers]. The 26 volume set is located in the Falk Library rare books Collection. Illustration PLATE 164: Vesalius, Andreas. De humani corporis fabrica libri septem. (Basileae [Basel] : Ex officina Joannis Oporini, 1543). The first major challenge to Galen’s human anatomy texts came from Andreas Vesalius (1514-64). Vesalius was a Flemish physician trained in Galenic medical beliefs at the University of Paris, who then went to teach anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua, where he was to produce a new edition of Galen’s writings. As Vesalius studied Galen’s texts, it became apparent that in order to fully understand the topic he needed to perform dissection on human cadavers —now permitted by the Catholic Church after centuries of prohibition. By working with human cadavers, Vesalius recognized that Galen’s anatomical texts were seriously flawed. In 1543, braving opposition to his challenge of Galenic doctrine, Vesalius produced the first comprehensive textbook of human anatomy published since the third century, De humani corporis fabrica libri septem...[On the Fabric of the Human Body], located in the Rare Book collection. The work includes many original anatomical terms created by Vesalius to describe the structures he discovered during dissections, and is strongly supported by magnificent artwork. This fine example of Renaissance art was created in the workshop of master artist Titian by one of his artisans, Stephen Kalcar. While the seemingly heretical text of Vesalius did encounter a storm of protest, the text and its magnificent illustrations gained widespread acceptance during the following century,superceding Galenic anatomy. De humani corporis fabrica… is one of the most significant volumes not only in the history of medicine, but also in the broader perspective of Western European civilization. You can view these works by Galen and Vesalius in the Falk Library Rare Books Room by appointment. --John Erlen |
