Blood and Guts by Richard Hollingham Read Free Book Online

for the modern European age. Medical
treatment involved a thorough examination of the patient. The
pulse would be read and therapy prescribed, depending on the
imbalance of the humours. Just as in Galen's day if you went to
the doctor with a fever there was a good chance he would get out
the bleeding bowl or reach for the purgative and funnel to clear
out your bowels.
    But whereas the study of medicine was a respected, even noble,
profession, surgeons were, as Vesalius would bemoan, considered
little better than servants. There was, however, a growing fascination
with anatomy. This was led, to a large extent, by artists. Renaissance
artists were enthralled by the human body, its form, bone structure
and musculature. And in the same way that doctors looked to Galen
for insights, artists took inspiration from the beautiful statues of
ancient Greek and Roman culture. A few years earlier, Leonardo da
Vinci had become intrigued by the mechanics of the body. He
produced intricately detailed drawings of human anatomy, of the
brain, blood vessels and nervous system. Unfortunately, they
remained unpublished during his lifetime.
    Human dissection, almost always of criminals, was rare but gaining
in popularity as part of medical training. Students were expected
to attend lectures on human anatomy. At these, a professor would
stand in a pulpit to read from Galen's text, while an assistant opened
up the body. But these events could become awkward affairs when it
became apparent that what Galen had described bore little relation
to the anatomical reality of the human body. People were beginning
to realize that, for all his genius, Galen had probably cut open
animals rather than people. Some in the medical profession – particularly
precocious medical students – were starting to question his
wisdom. For surgery to develop, someone had to get a proper grip
on where everything was and how it worked.
    Vesalius set himself the task of reaching a fuller understanding
of human anatomy. Back in his kitchen he began to sort out
the bones and cartilage of the skeleton. He painstakingly identified
each bone and laid it out in the correct position until his human
jigsaw gradually came together. The parts that were missing, the
foot and kneecaps, he 'obtained' from another corpse. There are
206 different bones in the human body, and Vesalius eventually
laid out every one before carefully wiring them together into a
skeleton that could be hung from a hook – not unlike the gibbet it
was originally taken from.
    The reconstructed skeleton was only the start. Over the next six
years Vesalius dissected as many bodies as he could lay his hands on.
Many were those of executed criminals; others he acquired from
cemeteries. The contributions these dead people made to medicine
were considerable. With their help, Vesalius was soon able to map
every single organ, muscle and ligament in the human body.
    Within the next few years Vesalius popularized dissection
and started holding public anatomy demonstrations. These were
attended by hundreds of spectators – not just medical students.
Dissection became such a popular entertainment that the supply
of bodies started to run out. This created a lucrative source of
employment for less desirable elements of society. Working in
gangs, bodysnatchers (or resurrectionists, as they would later be
known in Victorian London) could make a comfortable income.
However, the profession wasn't without its occupational hazards.
Even if the authorities turned a blind eye, bodysnatching was still
illegal. There was also the risk of picking up diseases. A small
infected cut and you could soon be joining the other bodies
destined for the dissecting table.
    Vesalius published his work in De Humani Corporis Fabrica (The
Construction of the Human Body). The invention of printing, using
movable type and woodcuts, allowed him to include technically
accurate and lavish illustrations. These pictures accurately identify
the locations of all