4^ BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 





His Great Classic on Movement of the Heart and Blood. 



— Since his book on the circulation of the blood is regarded 

 as one of the greatest monuments along the highroad of biol- 

 ogy, it is time to make mention of it in particular. Although 

 relatively small, it has a long title out of proportion to its 

 size: Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in 

 Animalibus, which maybe freely translated, " An Anatomical 

 Disquisition on the Movement of the Heart and Blood in 

 Animals." The book is usually spoken of under the shorter 

 title, De Motu Cordis et Sanguinis. The full title seems some- 

 what repellent, but the contents of the book will prove to be 

 interesting to general readers. It is a clear, logical demon- 

 stration of the subject, proceeding with directness from one 

 point to another until the culminating force of the argument 

 grows complete and convincing. 



The book in its first edition was a quarto volume of 

 seventy-eight pages, published in Frankfort in 1628. An 

 interesting facsimile reprint of this work, translated into 

 English, was privately reproduced in 1894 by Dr. Moreton 

 and published in Canterbury. As stated above, it is known 

 that Harvey had presented and demonstrated his views in 

 his lectures since 16 16. In his book he showed for the first 

 time ever in print, that all the blood in the body moves in a 

 circuit, and that the beating of the heart supplies the propel- 

 ling force. Both ideas were new, and in order to appreciate 

 in what sense they were original with Harvey, we must 

 inquire into the views of his forerunners. 



Question as to Harvey's Originality. — The question of 

 how near some of his predecessors came to anticipating his 

 demonstration of the circulation has been much debated. 

 It has been often maintained that Servetus and Realdus 

 Columbus held the conception of the circulation for which 

 Harvey has become so celebrated. Of the various accounts 

 of the views of Harvey's predecessors, those of Willis, Huxley, 



