Fields in biology often become more diverse due to research done by numerous scientists, doctors, and medical researchers who delve more into those studies. An expert in anatomy or an anatomist may do studies in complete anatomy or specific areas. Many historical anatomists have contributed to what we call anatomy today.
William Harvey: was an English physician who lived between 1578 and 1657. He is best known for being the official doctor for King James the first and discovering the circulatory system. Though before Harvey, others have hypothesized that there was a method by which blood is pumped around the body, Harvey confirmed these theories with arguments and experiments. Harvey used the volume to measure and estimate the amount of blood that would pass through the human body organs at a given timeframe. Since the body could not produce such large quantities of blood at once, it had to be circulated. Furthermore, he investigated the heartbeat and how it worked as a pump to push the blood around the body. After publishing in 1649 in a medical journal, Harvey’s work received much criticism but was eventually accepted.
Andreas Vesalius: He lived in Greece until the age of 50 where he studied and extensively described human anatomy and physiology. After receiving his doctorate, Vesalius devoted much of his time to dissecting and observing cadavers. So intrigued by this, Andreas began to follow a pattern of study involving doing his dissections and studying the ancient scientific texts in detail. He also discovered that the Galenic anatomy, which was used in many universities, was based on animal anatomy rather than human body systems. This was possibly due to the fact that human dissection was forbidden in the past. This discovery helped to push his creation of one of the first anatomical textbooks ‘Fabrica’ that was printed in 1543.
French anthropologist and pathologist, Paul Broca, studied lesions in the brain that helped modern biology understand cranial functions better. He discovered in 1861 what is now known as the convolution of Broca, a section in the left frontal lobe of the brain known for helping with the articulation of speech. This also made him the first person to prove that specific parts of the brain were related to certain functions in the systems of the human body.
Georges Cuvier was the founding father of comparative anatomy and paleontology. His work on the study of marine invertebrates as a tutor was sent to the Museum of Natural History in Paris where he was then encouraged to become a member of their team. He was the first to break down animals into subcategories based on their systems in the body. This rejected the typical anatomical organization that was used prior to the 18th century and helped others to explore the fact that animals are anatomically different and why this could be. All this and more helped Curvier to build the foundation of paleontology as a science.
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