50 THE MAIN CURRENTS OF ZOOLOGY 



servation and experiment, scientific knowledge began 

 to advance. 



The zoology of the period was intermingled with 

 medical science, especially with anatomy and phys- 

 iology, and had no recognized existence as an in- 

 dependent subject. Although William Harvey in- 

 vestigated the structure of many animals, the 

 embryology of the chick and of some mammals, 

 zoology remained in the iatric condition of union with 

 medicine. Out of this condition zoology emerged, not 

 full fledged, but as a small offshoot of the medical 

 sciences. 



It was not long, however, in arriving at an in- 

 dependent position but the zoology of the seven- 

 teenth and eighteenth centuries had few modern 

 aspects. 



In the early years of the Renaissance Aristotle was 

 translated, and later small independent advances were 

 made by various writers as Wotton (1552), Jonston 

 (1549-1553) and Aldrovandi (1599-1606). The most 

 important zoological work between Aristotle and 

 John Ray (the immediate prececessor of Linnaeus), 

 was that of the Swiss, Conrad Gesner (1516-1565). 

 His Historia Animalium is a voluminous publica- 

 tion, four volumes appearing between 1551 and 1556, 



