William Harvey

William Harvey (April 1, 1578 - June 3, 1657) was a medical doctor who is credited with first correctly describing, in exact detail, the properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart (It should be noted, however, that many of the discoveries he made had already been observed by Ibn Nafis). This developed the ideas of René Descartes who in his Description of the Human Body said that the arteries and veins were pipes and carried nourishment round the body. Many believe he discovered and extended early Muslim medicine especially the work of Ibn Nafis, who had laid out the principles and major arteries and veins in the 13th century.

Embryology

Harvey also conducted research in embryology in his later career, writing On the Generation of Animals (De Generatione) in 1651. He supported the Aristotelian theory that embryos formed gradually and did not possess the characteristics of an adult in early stages. He also hypothesized the existence of a mammalian egg, and dissected dozens of deer in the King's hunting park in hopes of finding one, although he failed to do so.

Related Topics:
Embryology - De Generatione - 1651 - Aristotelian - Egg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~