This book presents a new interpretation of how and why the discovery of the circulation of the blood in animals was made. It has long been known that the English physician William Harvey (1578-1657) was a follower of Aristotle, but his most strikingly 'modern' and original discovery - of the circulation of the blood - resulted from Harvey following Aristotle's ancient programme of investigation into animals. This is a new reading of the most important discovery ever made in anatomy by one man and produces not only a radical re-reading of Harvey as anatomist, but also of Aristotle and his investigations of animals.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface / Prologue. 'Nine years and more': an overview of the story / Introduction / Chapter 1. Aristotle's animal and the question of the soul / Chapter 2. Aristotle On the causes of the parts of animals / Chapter 3. Aristotle's animal in Padua: the anatomical investigations of Fabricius / Chapter 4. William Harvey: pupil, physician, Professor / Chapter 5. William Harvey, searcher into the vegetative soul / Chapter 6. 'The wonderful circulation of the blood, first found out by me' / Chapter 7. Method and experiment / Chapter 8. 'The anatomy of the blood': the blood as a new research object / Chapter 9. Precursing Aristotle: Why and how did we lose this Aristotle? / Chapter 10. Harvey and his historians: Why and how did we lose this Harvey? / Appendix: English or Latin? / Bibliography