Practicing physician, admitted to the most eminent persons in England. Member of the Royal College of Physicians. Anatomy teacher. All this is about William Harvey. With his painstaking research, the English scientist laid the foundations of modern embryology.
From the biography of Harvey
The English physician and physiologist was born on April 1, 1578. The place of his birth was the city of Folkestone, located in the county of Kent. Harvey graduated from the then prestigious medical faculty of the University of Cambridge. The first years of his studies, Harvey devoted to the study of disciplines useful for any branch of science: he conscientiously delved into mathematics, philosophy and rhetoric. He was especially interested in the philosophy of Aristotle. It became a solid foundation for his subsequent scientific activities. Harvey also carefully studied the writings of Hippocrates and Galen.
Upon graduation, William went to Italy, where he continued his studies. Harvey received his Ph. D. in 1602 in Padua.
Returning to his homeland, the scientist becomes a professor of surgery and anatomy, as well as a court doctor. First, he looks after the health of James I, and after his death he treats Charles I. However, after the English bourgeois revolution in 1642, the court doctor's career came to an end. The work of a researcher was waiting for him.
Most of Harvey's scientific works are in one way or another related to experimental physiology. The result of his research was the most important discoveries in biology and medicine.
From the mid-50s of the 17th century, the scientist lived for the most part in his brother's house on the outskirts of London.
William Harvey's scientific career
Harvey completely retired from medical practice and focused on research in the field of embryology. William spent his scientific research on chicken eggs. His cook once noticed that over the years of his studies in science, Harvey used so many eggs that they were more than enough to cook eggs for all the inhabitants of England.
Back in 1628, Harvey's extensive work on the study of blood circulation in animals was published. In his book, the scientist gave a description of the large and small circles of blood circulation.
Harvey cited evidence that the blood in the vessels is in constant motion due to the tireless work of the heart. The scientist refuted previous views, according to which the liver is supposedly the center of blood circulation in the body.
William Harvey's audacious conclusions have come under heavy attack from many eminent scientists. Disputes on this issue even went beyond the bounds of science and were reflected in the work of the famous Moliere, who wrote the comedy "The Imaginary Sick".
In 1651, Harvey published Research on the Origin of Animals. In this essay, deep in content and conclusions, the scientist recreated a picture of the complete embryonic development of roe deer and chicken.
William Harvey passed away in London. The heart of the great doctor and one of the first embryologists stopped beating on June 3, 1657.
