Learning Anatomy in the 16th and 17th century Essay

Learning Anatomy in the 16th and 17th century - Essay Example They later documented their work in the form of paintings, handbooks and other works. The art of human anatomy is dated back to the 1600 BC with the first contributor Mr. Edwin Smith. His work included the approach of the human body at different perspectives. According to his work, there is proof that the heart had vessels that helped in the transportation of blood throughout the body. He referred to them as blood vessels and they were believed to have originated from the heart. The treatise of the heart is contained in the Ebers Papyrus. He also noted that there was the presence of other vessels that helped in the transportation of other body fluids such as saliva, sweat, urine, semen and tears. Most of these organs were identified after examination of human corpses. Discoveries on human anatomy had various importances which can be viewed in the modern day society. Some of the artwork by artists foretold what would later be found out using state of the art technology. During the 16 and 17th centuries, there was no technology. However, these artists came up with paintings such as the Leornado Da Vinci’s painting on the human womb. His work foretold how the child looked like while in the wombs (Clayton & Ronald 55). It would later be confirmed using CRT scans which show the position of the child while in the womb. Artists work provided detailed information on the structure of the human body. They carried out researches on behalf of the general population to help doctors in their work. To some extent, the arties were so vigorous in their work such that they continued with their work even after bans had been enforced to reduce dissection on human corpses. For example, Leonardo was able to dissect close to 30 bodies during his research (Clayton & Ronald 45). This helped him provided a detailed report which would help him in his paintings. The paintings were used to create awareness to the members of the society. Most of the people did not know what constitut ed their bodies and how they functioned. As compared to the 21st century, his artwork is perfect. His sketches on the human body provided both internal and external details. He had and expansive study on bones, organs, muscles and the blood circulatory system. Vesalius on the other hand created detailed drawings on allegorical poses. After investing in research, he was able to gather data which he used to publish several books. He published the ‘De humani corporis fabrica’ which was a seven volume book containing his artwork. ‘Abridgement of the Structure of the Human Body’ was also published to provide his findings focusing on illustration rather than actual texts. According to other scholars, it is through Vesalius that they were able to learn the internal functioning of the human body. His findings were presented in a three dimensional place to help them provide detailed information to its viewers. Vesalius was the first scholar to provide a good descrip tion on the sphenoid bone. He was very detailed in his work and led to classification sternum. He also improved the works of Etienne which helped him clarify the type of veins and arteries and also the presence of valves. During the enlightenment era, most anatomist continued operating under the same ideology as Vesalius. He believed that all anatomists had the right to perform surgical operations on human corpses. His work later bore fruit after some of his followers led to the