86 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



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to the fact that the events in his life were ultra-dramatic am 

 such that he became a martyr for his religious convictions. It i 

 a question as to whether Servetus was first a theologian and thei 

 a physician or vice versa. He is included with the discussion o 

 the University of Paris because he studied medicine and pur 

 sued some original anatomical investigations on the human bod 

 while there. The focus will be on the latter. 



Servetus was born of a noble and devout family at Tudeb 

 in Navarre, near Catalonia, Spain. He was educated at neigh 

 boring Huesca College and then attended the University of Sara 

 gossa, located in the province of the same name. He was then seni 

 by his father to study law at the University of Toulouse, thin 

 oldest French university, founded in 1229 in southwestern France 

 At this institution, he became interested in religion and developec 

 concepts contrary to the prevailing dogma. He believed that th< 

 idea of the union of the three divines of the Trinity was a men 

 phantasy. After publishing his views early in life, he was brandec 

 as a heretic and thereafter was in trouble with both the Spanisl 

 and French Inquisitors. Because of this, he lived in semihidinj 

 under the assumed name of Michael Villanovanus; it was unde 

 this appellation that he studied medicine in Paris, being supei 

 vised by the teachers, Sylvius and Guinterius. He was a felloe 

 dissector with Andreas Vesalius, who was destined with him, to hi 

 subjected to the bigotry of the time, but in a different way. 



Like his dissecting-mate, Vesalius, Servetus had to pursu< 

 his anatomical studies in the absence of a plentiful supply o 

 cadavers. He apparently did not deem it worth-while to go ou 

 and forage for himself and try to obtain subjects from availabU 

 sources, such as executed criminals from the gallows or bodi< 

 resurrected from the grave, as did his partner. Perhaps, he grum 

 bled about the shortage, as Vesalius did. While studying, he su] 

 ported himself by writing and lecturing, his first book being 

 Apology to Astrology, indicating an interest in the influence o 

 the stars upon human affairs (Bainton, '53). 



In respect to his anatomical contributions, Servetus standi 

 out for his observations on the respiratory system. He was prob 

 ably attracted to this part of the body because he was seardi- 

 ing for the location of the soul. Here he made three important 



