INTRODUCTION 



11 



barbers who were making the dissection, and demonstrated the structures 

 himself. He finished his medical course at the University of Padua, 

 in Italy, where he was subsequently appointed to teach anatomy. 

 His teaching began with the time-honored method of reading Galen' s books, 

 but the independent spirit which he displayed in early life compelled 

 him to discontinue the practice. He ended by teaching anatomy only 

 as he himself found it by dissection, and only as he could demonstrate it 

 to his students. 



Unlike Mondino da Luzzi and Berengario, Vesalius was able to carry 

 conviction to others. His students and colleagues recognized his worth, 

 and other anatomists were gradually persuaded. Having proTDably no 



Fig. 2. 



-Andreas Vesalius, 1514-1564. (From Garrif>oit.'8 History of Medicine. 



Saunders Co.) 



W. B. 



more facilities for original dissection than did Berengario and other 

 anatomists of his time, Vesalius possessed what they probably lacked, a 

 forceful personality. Opposition of the clergy, who had everything to 

 lose and nothing to gain from a return to observation, did not daunt 

 him. He was as adept in controversy as they — and Vesalius won. He 

 did not live to see his method of appeal to nature universally adopted, 

 but reform was rapid after his time, and to him belongs the chief credit 

 for starting the reform. 



The Experimental Method. — At the time of VesaHus zoology 

 (anatomy, mostly) was an observational science. Every science has 

 been observational in the early stage of its development. Observation 



