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BIOGRAPHIES OF GREAT SCIENTISTS
Vesalius Andreas. Biography of a scientist
Directory / Biographies of great scientists
Andreas Vesalius is rightly considered the creator of modern anatomy and the founder of the school of anatomists. He was also successful as a medical practitioner. Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels into a family of hereditary physicians. His grandfather and great-grandfather were doctors, and his father served as a pharmacist at the court of Emperor Charles V. The interests of those around him undoubtedly influenced the interests and aspirations of young Vesalius. Andreas studied first at school, and then at the University of Louvain, where he received a versatile education, studied Greek and Latin, thanks to which he could get acquainted with the works of scientists already in his youth. Obviously, he read a lot of books about medicine by ancient and contemporary scientists, since his works speak of deep knowledge. Vesalius independently assembled a complete human skeleton from the bones of the executed. It was the first anatomical manual in Europe. Every year, Vesalius' passionate interest in the study of medicine, in anatomical studies, became more and more evident. In his free time from teaching, he carefully dissected the bodies of animals at home: mice, cats, dogs, studying the structure of their body. In an effort to improve his knowledge in the field of medicine, especially anatomy, Vesalius at the age of seventeen went to the University of Montpellier, and in 1533 he first appeared at the medical faculty of the University of Paris to listen to the lectures of the famous anatomist Sylvius. Young Vesalius was already able to critically approach the method of teaching anatomy. In the preface to the treatise On the Structure of the Human Body, he wrote: “My studies would never have led to success if, during my medical work in Paris, I had not applied my own hands to this matter ... And I myself, somewhat sophisticated by my own experience, publicly performed a third of the autopsies on his own." Vesalius asks questions in lectures that indicate his doubts about the correctness of the teachings of Galen. Galen is an indisputable authority, his teaching should be accepted without any reservations, and Vesalius trusts more his eyes than the works of Galen. The scientist rightly considered anatomy to be the basis of medical knowledge, and the goal of his life was the desire to revive the experience of the distant past, to develop and improve the method of studying human anatomy. However, the church, which hindered the development of the natural sciences, forbade the autopsy of human corpses, considering it blasphemy. The young anatomist had to overcome many difficulties. In order to be able to do anatomy, he used every opportunity. If there was money in his pocket, he negotiated with the cemetery watchman, and then a corpse suitable for autopsy fell into his hands. If there was no money, he, hiding from the watchman, opened the grave himself, without his knowledge. What to do, I had to take risks! Vesalius studied the bones of the human and animal skeleton so well that he could name any bone by touch without looking at them. Vesalius spent three years at the university, and then circumstances developed in such a way that he had to leave Paris and go again to Louvain. There Vesalius got into trouble. He removed the corpse of the executed criminal from the gallows and performed an autopsy. The Louvain clergy demanded the strictest punishment for such blasphemy. Vesalius realized that disputes were useless here, and considered it good to leave Louvain and went to Italy. After receiving his doctorate in 1537, Vesalius began teaching anatomy and surgery at the University of Padua. The government of the Republic of Venice encouraged the development of natural science and sought to expand the work of scientists at this university. The brilliant talent of the young scientist attracted attention. Twenty-two-year-old Vesalius, who had already received the title of Doctor of Medicine for his work, was appointed to the Department of Surgery with the duty of teaching anatomy. He gave lectures with inspiration, which always attracted many listeners, worked with students and, most importantly, continued his research. And the deeper he studied the internal structure of the body, the more he became convinced that there were many very significant errors in Galen's teachings, which those who were under the influence of Galen's authority simply did not notice. For four long years he worked on his work. He studied, translated and republished the works of medical scientists of the past, his anatomist predecessors. And in their writings, he found many errors. "Even the greatest scientists," wrote Vesalius, "slavishly adhered to other people's oversights and some strange style in their unsuitable manuals." The scientist began to trust the most authentic book - the book of the human body, in which there are no errors. At night by candlelight, Vesalius dissected corpses. He set himself the goal of solving the great task of correctly describing the location, shape and function of the organs of the human body. The result of the passionate and persistent work of the scientist was the famous treatise in seven books, which appeared in 1543 and was entitled "On the structure of the human body." It was a gigantic scientific work, in which, instead of obsolete dogmas, new scientific views were presented. It reflected the cultural upsurge of mankind during the Renaissance. Typography developed rapidly in Venice and in Basel, where Vesalius printed his work. His book is decorated with beautiful drawings by the artist Stefan Kalkar, a student of Titian. It is characteristic that the skeletons depicted in the drawings stand in poses characteristic of living people, and the landscapes surrounding some of the skeletons speak more about life than about death. All this work of Vesalius was intended for the benefit of a living person, the study of his body in order to preserve his health and life. Each capital letter in the treatise is adorned with a drawing depicting children studying anatomy. So it was in antiquity: the art of anatomy was taught from childhood, knowledge was passed from father to son. The magnificent artistic composition of the frontispiece of the book depicts Vesalius during a public lecture and an autopsy of a man. The work of Vesalius excited the minds of scientists. The boldness of his scientific thought was so unusual that, along with the followers who appreciated his discoveries, he had many enemies. The great scientist experienced a lot of grief and disappointment when even his students left him. The famous Silvius, the teacher of Vesalius, called Vesalius "Vezanus", which means - insane. He attacked him with a scathing pamphlet, which he called "A defense against slander against the anatomical works of Hippocrates and Galen by a certain madman." He did not disdain to turn to the emperor himself with a demand to roughly punish Vesalius. “I beg Caesar’s Majesty,” wrote Professor Jacob Silvius, “to severely beat and generally curb this monster of ignorance, ingratitude, arrogance, the most pernicious example of impiety, born and raised in his house, as this monster deserves, so that with its plague breath it did not poison Europe." Vesalius foresaw how events would turn out after the publication of his treatise On the Structure of the Human Body. Even earlier, he wrote: "... my work will be attacked by those who did not take up anatomy as zealously as was the case in Italian schools, and who now, at an advanced age, are languishing with envy at the correct revelations of the young man." Most eminent doctors really took the side of Sylvius. They joined his demand to curb and punish Vesalius, who dared to criticize the great Galen. Such was the strength of recognized authorities, such were the foundations of public life of that time, when any innovation aroused alertness, any bold statement that went beyond the established canons was regarded as freethinking. These were the fruits of the centuries-old ideological monopoly of the church, which imposed rigidity and routine. Having opened dozens of corpses, having carefully studied the human skeleton, Vesalius came to the conclusion that the opinion that men have one rib less than women is completely wrong. But such a belief went beyond medical science. It affected church doctrine. Vesalius did not reckon with another statement of the churchmen. In his time, the belief was preserved that in the human skeleton there is a bone that does not burn in fire, is indestructible. It supposedly contains a mysterious power, with the help of which a person will be resurrected on the day of the Last Judgment in order to appear before the Lord God. And although no one saw this bone, it was described in scientific works, there was no doubt about its existence. Vesalius, who described the structure of the human body, bluntly stated that, while examining the human skeleton, he did not find a mysterious bone. Vesalius was aware of the consequences of his speeches against Galen. He understood that he opposed the prevailing opinion, offending the interests of the church. And how they deal with such impudent loners, he knew well. The scientist continued to teach at the University of Padua, but every day the atmosphere around him heated up more and more. It was bitter for him to part with Padua, with the university, to interrupt his work and research. But he saw no other way. Just at this time, he received an invitation from the Spanish Emperor Charles V to take the place of the court physician. The court of the emperor was at that time in Brussels. Vesalius's father was still serving Charles, and the young professor accepted the emperor's offer. Of course, in Brussels he will not have a department, he will not be able to study with students. But on the other hand, the imperial court will serve as a reliable shelter for him from the persecution of the church, leaving the opportunity to study anatomy. Thus, the position of court physician, although not to the liking of Vesalius, had its advantages. And yet it was difficult to find a more unsuitable position for Vesalius. He was a scientist, a researcher. Now he had to learn principles that were very far from science, the ability to please his noble patients, to catch their thoughts, to participate in all court ceremonies. But even under these conditions, he did not stop the work to which he devoted his life. Vesalius devoted all his free time to his treatise On the Structure of the Human Body. He made corrections, additions, clarified what seemed to him not entirely convincing. Using every opportunity, he was engaged in anatomy. But the idea that he was cut off from scientific centers, that research activities had become a side business for him, oppressed Vesalius. He dreamed of returning to the scientific department again. But in reality, Vesalius could not even think about leaving Brussels and moving to another place where he could do the work he liked. As soon as he left the imperial court, the Inquisition would again show interest in him. That is why, in the most dreary moments of his life, Vesalius convinced himself that he had to come to terms with the circumstances. He managed to publish his treatise "On the structure of the human body" in the second edition. It was only a short happy moment in all these years, and then everything went on as before. The monotonous days dragged on in a long succession. But then came the end of Vesalius' stay at the imperial court. His patron Charles V abdicated, retired to a monastery and soon died. Philip II came to the throne - a bilious and evil man. He did not like Vesalius and openly showed him his dislike. Numerous envious and enemies of the court physician hastened to take advantage of this. The attitude of the new emperor towards Vesalius worsened even more. Vesalius felt that he needed to leave Brussels as soon as possible. He made an attempt to escape from the power of the new emperor, asked to be released to Italy. But the wayward Philip categorically opposed this. Under Philip, the severe prohibitions of the church on dissecting corpses again touched Vesalius. To break them meant to enter into open conflict with the church. Vesalius bitterly wrote about this time: "I could not even touch a dry skull with my hand, and the less I had the opportunity to perform autopsies." But no matter how hard Vesalius tried not to give the church a reason for any accusations, it turned out to be beyond his power. Streams of slander again poured on Vesalius. To top it off, he was falsely accused of dissecting a living person. Vesalius tried to prove his innocence, but all was in vain. He had to obey. The verdict of the church was categorical: the court physician Andrei Vesalius had to go to the "holy places" to the Holy Sepulcher to atone for his sins... In 1564, Vesalius left Madrid with his wife and daughter. Leaving his family in Brussels, he went on a long journey alone. On the way to Jerusalem, the scientist stopped in his beloved Venice, where he spent the best years of his creative life. Vesalius did not leave the thought of returning to her favorite science. There is an assumption that the Senate of Venice invited him to take the chair again at the University of Padua. But the dream of the scientist to return to science did not come true. On the way back from Jerusalem, during a shipwreck, the sick Vesalius was thrown onto the island of Zante (Greece), where he died in 1564. We do not know the place of his burial, but the best monument to the scientist, the fighter for progressive science is his great work on the structure of the human body. Author: Samin D.K.
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