176 THE MAIN CURRENTS OF ZOOLOGY 



made the first (after the Renaissance) independent 

 advance in embryology (1651) and exercised consid- 

 erable influence on the progress of morphology. 



Although Vesalius (1514-1564) before Harvey had 

 established the method of independent observa- 

 tion (human anatomy, 1543) he is subordinate to 

 Harvey. 



2. Malpighi. Our second selection in chron- 

 ological order is Malpighi (1628-1694). A careful 

 observer, making progress in Minute Anatomy of 

 animals, as in his famous monograph on the anatomy 

 of the silkworm (1670), in the anatomy of plants 

 (1671 and 1675), an d, especially, in embryology 

 (1672). He was the first also (in 1661) to see the ac- 

 tual circulation of blood in the capillaries. Through 

 the exactness and the range of his observations, his 

 spirit and his teaching of anatomy, he was directly 

 connected with future progress. 



Two of his contemporaries should be mentioned 

 Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam. Leeuwenhoek 

 was more discursive and less directly connected with 

 progress. Swammerdam was more exact in his 

 studies of insect anatomy, but the range of his work 

 was more limited and the publication of his complete 

 investigations was delayed till 1738. (During his 



