History of Anatomy: Galenus and Vesalius

Claudius Galenus (130)

• Roman/Greek surgeon, philosopher, and physician who performed dissections on various animals including Barbary apes and pigs.
• Distinguished different anatomical structures such as 7 pairs of cranial nerves and valves of the heart.
• Revealed arteries carry blood and not air; demonstrated kidney and bladder functions through ureter ligation.
• Noted for describing contagiousness of tuberculosis and symptoms of diabetes.
• First to identify carotid sinus hypersensitivity and psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression.
• Published influential medical works including "The Canon of Medicine" and "Book of the Cure."

Andreas Vesalius (1543)

• European anatomist and physician who focused on human anatomical dissection.
• Corrected several of Galen’s anatomical errors, notably about the human breastbone segments.
• Created anatomical charts that served as essential references for blood and nervous systems.
• Authored "The Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body," which detailed human anatomy comprehensively.

Robert Hooke (1665)

• English physicist who coined the term "cell" while studying cork's honeycomb structure.
• Provided illustrations of snowflake crystal structures, contributing to the understanding of crystallography.
• Invented the modern microscope and built the Gregorian reflecting telescope.
• Published "Micrographia," showcasing his discoveries at the microscopic level.

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1675)

• Dutch microscopist known for groundbreaking discoveries of bacteria and protozoa.
• First to describe spermatozoa and various microorganisms from sources like rainwater and human samples.
• Advocated for documenting scientific findings to share knowledge with others, as highlighted in his letter from 1716.

Carolus Linnaeus (1700)

• Swedish naturalist and explorer who systematized classifications of plants, animals, and minerals.
• Established the principles of binomial nomenclature, providing a two-part naming system for species.
• Example: "Tyrannosaurus rex" and "Homo sapiens" represent his taxonomic framework.
• Published influential work "Systema Naturae," formalizing classification within biology.

Louis Pasteur (1854)

• French chemist and microbiologist who linked microorganisms to fermentation processes.
• Developed germ theory and researched zoonotic diseases like chicken cholera.
• Originated the pasteurization process and created vaccines for anthrax and rabies.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1858)

• English humanist, naturalist, and geographer co-founder of the theory of evolution via natural selection.
• Noted for his discovery of survival mechanisms in organisms through explorations in the Malay Archipelago.
• Authored "The Malay Archipelago," documenting his findings in nature and evolution.

Charles Darwin (1859)

• Renowned English naturalist who pioneered the theory of evolution through natural selection.
• Proposed that species adapt to their environments and pass advantageous traits to future generations.
• Wrote "On the Origin of Species," a seminal text that laid the foundation for modern evolutionary biology.