Andreas Vesalius

Andreas Vesalius was born as Andries van Wesel on December 31, 1514 in Brussels. His father was a pharmacist in the emperor's service and his grandfather also worked as a physician at the court. The surname of the Brabant doctor is 'Wesel' because his great-great-grandfather comes from that German city. Andreas Vesalius decides to study medicine, just like his ancestors. He is following courses at the universities of Leuven, Paris and Padua, Italy.During that period, medical science strongly adhered to the teachings of the Greek Claudius Galenus (131-216). Vesalius translates works of this Greek physician who lived long before him. After dissecting corpses, Vesalius concludes that Claudius Galen has probably never looked at the inside of a person. The Greek physician derived his knowledge from cutting open animals. It is known that Vesalius in Padua was given the bodies of executed criminals several times so that he could examine the inside of these bodies. Andreas Vesalius publishes a work in which he writes down the knowledge he has acquired through his anatomical activities. This book is entitled De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (Seven books on the construction of the human body). It is the first complete book on human anatomy.