The 1555 copy of Andreas Vesalius’ De Humani Corporis Fabrica is perhaps the most important book held by RCSI Library. Just over one hundred copies of this work are known to exist worldwide and RCSI holds the only known copy in Ireland. It is considered a masterpiece in the fields of both anatomy and art.
It is 500 years since the birth of Andreas Vesalius one of the greatest anatomists and dissectors of the medical world. BBC4 recently ran a series on TV called The Beauty of Anatomy which features a different anatomist for each of its 5 episodes. One of these anatomists was none other than the great Vesalius.
It is 500 years since the birth of Andreas Vesalius one of the greatest anatomists and dissectors of the medical world. BBC4 recently ran a series on TV called The Beauty of Anatomy which features a different anatomist for each of its 5 episodes. One of these anatomists was none other than the great Vesalius.
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| Engraving by Tintoretto of Vesalius c1540 |
Vesalius was born in Brussels on 31 December 1514. He started his medical studies in the University of Paris in 1533 where he learned the art of dissection. In 1538 he had moved to the University of Padua where he received his M.D. and was appointed a lecturer in anatomy. It was here that his amazing skills in dissection came to light.
Galen, the Greek physician from the 2nd century BC, was considered the father of anatomy. Galen's medical teachings and books were still considered the authoritative texts in Vesalius' time. But Galen had learned and taught through the dissecting of animals (mostly pigs and apes) rather than humans.
In 1540 Vesalius broke from the tradition of relying on Galen when dissecting as he believed that a true understanding of the human body could only be achieved by direct observation and dissection of cadavers. So Veslius started carrying out dissections himself on cadavers, learning about human anatomy and throwing a critical eye over ancient medical texts.
Veslius decided to publish the findings and discoveries he had made about the inner workings of the human body in 1542. He started writing the text and commissioned accompanying illustrations of dissections. The publication De Humani Corporis (On the Fabric of the Human Body) is known as the first modern book on anatomy, the first edition of which was published in 1543, when Vesalius was just 28 years old. The work is based on a series of lectures given by Vesalius, during which he himself dissected a corpse to illustrate his discussions.
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| RCSI Antiquarian Books De Humani Corpus Fabrica, Vesalius 1555 |
This is the title page from the second edition of De Humani Corporis Fabrica published in 1555.
A bearded Vesalius can be seen to the left of the corpse in the centre of the illustration.
Through working with human cadavers, Vesalius made a number of important discoveries. These included the fact that the human jawbone is made up of one bone (and not two as Galen had thought) as well as debunking the idea the idea, derived from the bible, that women had one less rib than men. In De Humani Corpus he also became the first person to describe mechanical ventilation (artificial respiration).
The work itself is beautifully illustrated with over 200 large plates and smaller illustrations; as well as being of striking beauty they are of unparalleled anatomical accuracy for their time. Interestingly, though the illustrations are thought to have been drawn by artists from the workshop of Titian, the Venetian painter, the individual artists themselves are not credited.
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| RCSI Antiquarian Books De Humani Corpus Fabrica, Vesalius 1555 |
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| RCSI Antiquarian Books De Humani Corpus Fabrica, Vesalius 1555 |
RCSI Heritage Collections holds a copy of the second edition, published 12 years after the original.
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| RCSI Antiquarian Books De Humani Corpus Fabrica, Vesalius 1555 |
To find out more about Vesalius click on the following links
University of Basel digitised version of the 1543 edition De Humani Corporis Fabrica
- Written by Colm O' Connor, RCSI Library Assistant