Andreas Vesalius--the reformer of anatomy

This paper deals with two main topics. The first part provides data on the life of Andreas Vesalius, a scholar and anatomist of the 16th century, and describes the environment in which he lived and worked. It highlights his personality of a great doctor and teacher and points out the importance of his scientific methods and techniques as opposed to speculative methods that were prevalent in the scientific research in those days. The second part of the paper is devoted to the characteristics and description of his famous and, given the times he lived in, grand work called "De Humani Corporis Fabrica", which opened a new epoch in the history of anatomy. Andreas Vesalius is considered to be the founder of the science of anatomy which is based on observation and experience gained by using scalpel on dead bodies of humans. This is how he proved the then valid statements wrong. This complex view of life and work of Andreas Vesalius is aimed at highlighting the milestone which he represents in this traditional science of anatomy that has been conscientiously developed since the Classical times. (Fig. 4, Ref. 6.)