Abū Bakr al-Rāzī Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ), , often known as
(al-)Razi or by his
Latin name
Rhazes, also rendered
Rhasis, was a Persian
physician,
philosopher and
alchemist who lived during the
Islamic Golden Age. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of medicine, and also wrote on
logic,
astronomy and
grammar. In his book
Doubts about Galen, al-Razi rejects several claims made by the Greek physician, as far as the alleged superiority of the
Greek language and many of his
cosmological and medical views. ;
Book for al-Mansur () Al-Razi dedicated this work to his patron
Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Manṣūr, the
Samanid governor of Ray. It was translated into Latin by
Gerard of Cremona around 1180. A Latin translation of it was edited in the 16th century by the Dutch anatomist and physician
Andreas Vesalius. The anatomy part in Kitab Al-Ma'nsuri has 26 sections, being divided into sections about structures, such as bones, nerves, muscles, veins, and arteries, and organs such as the eyes, nose, heart, and intestines. He followed Galen in many of his anatomical descriptions, but also opposed—and improved—Galen's descriptions in many others. For example, he was the first to describe the recurrent laryngeal nerve as a mixed sensory and motor nerve, precisely described the circle of Willis, and distinguished nerves from tendons. He opposed Galen's concept that the brain, spinal cord, and ventricles comprise a single structure. He also corrected Galen by arguing that the stomach has three (not two) layers and the coccyx includes three (not five) bones (three—or four—is the number commonly given in current textbooks), and the correct relationship between the ureters and the urinary bladder. These examples of more accurate descriptions by Al-Razi could be a result of detailed observation of surgeries or, perhaps more likely, of human dissections, taking into account their level of detail and also the fact that he publicly stressed the importance of dissections in the medical field.
Ibn al-Nafīs ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Ḥazm al-Qarashī (
Arabic: علاء الدين أبو الحسن عليّ بن أبي حزم القرشي ), known as
Ibn al-Nafis (
Arabic: ابن النفيس), was an
Arab polymath whose areas of work included
medicine,
surgery,
physiology,
anatomy,
biology,
Islamic studies,
jurisprudence, and
philosophy. He is known for being the first to describe the
pulmonary circulation of the
blood. The work of Ibn al-Nafis regarding the right sided (pulmonary) circulation pre-dates the later work (1628) of
William Harvey's
De motu cordis. Both theories attempt to explain circulation. 2nd century Greek physician
Galen's theory about the physiology of the
circulatory system remained unchallenged until the works of Ibn al-Nafis, for which he has been described as
"the father of circulatory physiology". As an early anatomist, Ibn al-Nafis also performed several human
dissections during the course of his work, making several important discoveries in the fields of
physiology and
anatomy. Besides his famous discovery of the
pulmonary circulation, he also gave an early insight of the
coronary and
capillary circulations.
Pre-Renaissance Europe Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe, human anatomy was mainly learned through books and animal dissection. While it was claimed by 19th century polemicists, and still is claimed in some generalist works, that dissection was restricted after
Boniface VIII passed a
papal bull that forbade the dismemberment and boiling of corpses for funerary purposes, this claim has been debunked as a myth by modern historians of science. For many decades human dissection was thought unnecessary when all the knowledge about a human body could be read about from early authors such as Galen. In the 12th century, as universities were being established in Italy, Emperor Frederick II made it mandatory for students of medicine to take courses on human anatomy and surgery. Students who had the opportunity to watch Vesalius in dissection at times had the opportunity to interact with the animal corpse. At the risk of letting their eagerness to participate become a distraction to their professors, medical students preferred this interactive teaching style at the time. In the universities the lectern would sit elevated before the audience and instruct someone else in the dissection of the body, but in his early years Mondino de Luzzi performed the dissection himself making him one of the first and few to use a hands on approach to teaching human anatomy. Specifically in 1315, Mondino de' Liuzzi is credited with having "performed the first human dissection recorded for Western Europe."
Mondino de Luzzi "Mundinus" was born around 1276 and died in 1326; from 1314 to 1324 he presented many lectures on human anatomy at Bologna university. Mondino de'Luzzi put together a book called "Anathomia" in 1316 that consisted of detailed dissections that he had performed, this book was used as a text book in universities for 250 years. "Mundinus" carried out the first systematic human dissections since
Herophilus of Chalcedon and
Erasistratus of Ceos 1500 years earlier. The first major development in anatomy in Christian Europe since the fall of Rome occurred at
Bologna, where anatomists dissected cadavers and contributed to the accurate description of organs and the identification of their functions. Following de Liuzzi's early studies, 15th century anatomists included
Alessandro Achillini and
Antonio Benivieni.
Leonardo da Vinci , c. 1510
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was trained in anatomy by
Andrea del Verrocchio. In 1489 Leonardo began a series of anatomical drawings depicting the ideal human form. This work was carried out intermittently for over two decades. During this time he made use of his anatomical knowledge in his artwork, making many sketches of skeletal structures, muscles, and organs of humans and other vertebrates that he dissected. Initially adopting an
Aristotlean understanding of anatomy, he later studied Galen and adopted a more empirical approach, eventually abandoning Galen altogether and relying entirely on his own direct observation. His surviving 750 drawings represent groundbreaking studies in anatomy. Leonardo dissected around thirty human specimens until he was forced to stop under order of
Pope Leo X. As an artist-anatomist, Leonardo made many important discoveries, and had intended to publish a comprehensive treatise on human anatomy. He was the first to develop drawing techniques in anatomy to convey information using cross-sections and multiple angles, although centuries would pass before anatomical drawings became accepted as crucial for learning anatomy. None of Leonardo's Notebooks were published during his lifetime, many being lost after his death, with the result that his anatomical discoveries remained unknown until they were later found and published centuries after his death.
Vesalius from
De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543) The Galenic doctrine in Europe was first seriously challenged in the 16th century. Thanks to the
printing press, all over Europe a collective effort proceeded to circulate the works of Galen and later publish criticisms on their works.
Andreas Vesalius, born and educated in Belgium, contributed the most to human anatomy. Vesalius's success were due in large part to him exercising the skills of mindful dissections for the sake of understanding anatomy, much to the tune of Galen's "anatomy project" instead of focusing on the work of other scholars of the time in recovering the ancient texts of Hippocrates, Galen and others (which much of the medical community was focused around at the time). Vesalius was the first to publish a treatise,
De Humani Corporis Fabrica, that challenged Galen's anatomical teachings, arguing that they are based on observations of other mammals, not human bodies. The book included a detailed series of explanations and vivid drawings of the anatomical parts of human bodies. Vesalius traveled all the way from
Leuven to
Padua for permission to dissect victims from the
gallows without fear of persecution. His superbly executed drawings are triumphant descriptions of the differences between dogs and humans, but it took a century for Galen's influence to fade. Vesalius' work marked a new era in the study of anatomy and its relation to medicine. Under Vesalius, anatomy became an actual discipline. "His skill in and attention to dissection featured prominently in his publications as well as his demonstrations, in his research as well as his teaching." Most professors did not do the dissections themselves. Instead, they sat in seats above the bodies while hired hands did the cutting. Students and observers would be placed around the table in a circular, stadium-like arena and listen as professors explained the various anatomical parts. As anatomy theatres gained popularity throughout the 16th century, protocols were adjusted to account for the disruptions of students. Students moved beyond simply being eager to participate, and began stealing and vandalizing cadavers. Students were thus instructed to sit quietly and were to be penalized for disrupting the dissection. Moreover, preparatory lectures were mandatory in order to introduce the "subsequent observation of anatomy". The demonstrations were structured into dissections and lectures. The dissections focused on the skill of autopsy/vivisection while the lectures would center on the philosophical questions of anatomy. This is exemplary of how anatomy was viewed not only as the study of structures but also the study of the "body as an extension of the soul". The 19th century eventually saw a move from anatomical theatres to classrooms, reducing "the number of people who could benefit from each cadaver". Many famous artists studied anatomy, attended dissections, and published drawings for money, from
Michelangelo to
Rembrandt. For the first time, prominent universities could teach something about anatomy through drawings, rather than relying on knowledge of Latin. Contrary to popular belief, the Church neither objected to nor obstructed anatomical research. Only certified anatomists were allowed to perform dissections, and sometimes then only yearly. These dissections were sponsored by the city councilors and often charged an admission fee, rather like a circus act for scholars. Many European cities, such as Amsterdam, London, Copenhagen, Padua, and Paris, all had Royal anatomists (or some such office) tied to local government. Indeed,
Nicolaes Tulp was Mayor of Amsterdam for three terms. Though it was a risky business to perform dissections, and unpredictable depending on the availability of fresh bodies,
attending dissections was legal. The supply of printed anatomy books from Italy and France led to an increased demand for human cadavers for dissections. Since few bodies were voluntarily donated for dissection, royal charters were established which allowed prominent universities to use the bodies of hanged criminals for dissections. However, there was still a shortage of bodies that could not accommodate for the high demand of bodies. ==Modern anatomy==