ANDREAS VESALIUS-A.D. 1514 to 1564 97 



conducted a public demonstration in anatomy while in resi- 

 dence there. By a happy circumstance, he was introduced to 

 a man important to his future, namely, his countryman, Jan 

 Stephan van Calcar, artist extraordinary, an anatomical dissector 

 in his own right and according to Vesalius' own words, he ranked 

 "with the divine and happy wits of Italy" (Ball, '10). 



During the last month of the year, 1537, Vesalius moved to 

 Padua in order to gain all the rights and privileges of a full- 

 fledged physician. Shortly after receiving his doctorate there, he 

 was appointed Professor of Surgery at the renowned University 

 of Padua, with the understanding that he would teach anatomy 

 separately. This may have been the first appointment ever made 

 to a purely anatomical chair. At this time, he was only twenty- 

 three years of age. 



Imbued with zeal and enthusiasm, his first act was to improve 

 the course of instruction in anatomy. Contrary to precedent, he 

 took over all the duties revolving around teaching: lecturing, 

 demonstrating and dissecting. The ignorant barbers, universally 

 employed as dissectors, were avoided and substituted with stu- 

 dents. Every means was taken to have an adequate supply of 

 human anatomical material even if it had to be secured by 

 stealth, but lower animals were also included in his program. It 

 was they which were vivisected: dogs, pigs and rarely cats. 



The center of attraction in the anatomical curriculum was 

 the elegant aula where Vesalius conducted his course; it was 

 built of wood and could seat 500 persons. In its middle, was placed 

 a table, under which was a box containing bones and joints. An 

 assembled skeleton was conspicuous at one end of the room. 

 Those taking the complete course were subjected to a strenuous 

 session: the entire day for a period of three weeks. As visual aids, 

 he used drawings and charts made with his own hand, sometimes 

 in the presence of an assembly. The dissecting instruments he used 

 were crude by comparison with modern standards. He showed 

 the ones utilized in one of the illustrations in the Fabrica: knives, 

 hooks, sounds, bristles, cannula, catheter, hammer, saw, thread 



Eld a sponge. 

 Vesalius made an auspicious start at Padua. It became known 

 roughout the entire community, probably by word of mouth. 



