CHAPTER II

Vesalius and the Overthrow of Authority in Science, 22

Vesalius, in a broad sense, one of the founders of biology, 22. A picture of the condition of anatomy before he took it up, 23. Galen: his great influence as a scientific writer, 24. Anatomy in the Middle Ages, 24. Predecessors of Vesalius: Mundinus, Berangarius, Sylvius, 26. Vesalius gifted and forceful, 27. His impetuous nature, 27. His reform in the teaching of anatomy, 28. His physiognomy, 30. His great book (1543), 30. A description of its illustrations, 30, 31. Curious conceits of the artist, 32. Opposition to Vesalius: curved thigh bones due to wearing tight trousers, the resurrection bone, 34, 35. The court physician, 35. Close of his life, 36. Some of his successors: Eustachius and Fallopius, 36. The especial service of Vesalius: he overthrew dependence on authority and reëstablished the scientific method of ascertaining truth, 37, 38.