the evolution of modern medicine-第31节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


man　（vaesanus）。　The　younger　men　were　with　him　and　he　had　many　friends；　but　he　had　aroused　a　roaring　tide　of　detraction　against　which　he　protested　a　few　years　later　in　his　work　on　the　〃China…root；〃　which　is　full　of　details　about　the　〃Fabrica。〃　　In　a　fit　of　temper　he　threw　his　notes　on　Galen　and　other　MSS。　in　the　fire。　No　sadder　page　exists　in　medical　writings　than　the　one　in　which　Vesalius　tells　of　the　burning　of　his　books　and　MSS。　　It　is　here　reproduced　and　translated。＇23＇　His　life　for　a　couple　of　years　is　not　easy　to　follow；　but　we　know　that　in　1546　he　took　service　with　Charles　V　as　his　body　physician；　and　the　greatest　anatomist　of　his　age　was　lost　in　the　wanderings　of　court　and　campaigns。　He　became　an　active　practitioner；　a　distinguished　surgeon；　much　consulted　by　his　colleagues；　and　there　are　references　to　many　of　his　cases；　the　most　important　of　which　are　to　internal　aneurysms；　which　he　was　one　of　the　first　to　recognize。　In　1555　he　brought　out　the　second　edition　of　the　〃Fabrica；〃　an　even　more　sumptuous　volume　than　the　first。

＇23＇　Epistle　on　China…root；　1546；　p。　196。　　Vesalius　may　be　quoted　in　explanationin　palliation：

〃All　these　impediments　I　made　light　of；　for　I　was　too　young　to　seek　gain　by　my　art；　and　I　was　sustained　by　my　eager　desire　to　learn　and　to　promote　the　studies　in　which　I　shared。　　I　say　nothing　of　my　diligence　in　anatomizingthose　who　attended　my　lectures　in　Italy　know　how　I　spent　three　whole　weeks　over　a　single　public　dissection。　But　consider　that　in　one　year　I　once　taught　in　three　different　universities。　If　I　had　put　off　the　task　of　writing　till　this　time；　if　I　were　now　just　beginning　to　digest　my　materials；　students　would　not　have　had　the　use　of　my　anatomical　labours；　which　posterity　may　or　may　not　judge　superior　to　the　rechauffes　formerly　in　use；　whether　of　Mesua；　of　Gatinaria；　of　some　Stephanus　or　other　on　the　differences；　causes　and　symptoms　of　diseases；　or；　lastly；　of　a　part　of　Servitor's　pharmacopoeia。　As　to　my　notes；　which　had　grown　into　a　huge　volume；　they　were　all　destroyed　by　me；　and　on　the　same　day　there　similarly　perished　the　whole　of　my　paraphrase　on　the　ten　books　of　Rhazes　to　King　Almansor；　which　had　been　composed　by　me　with　far　more　care　than　the　one　which　is　prefaced　to　the　ninth　book。　With　these　also　went　the　books　of　some　author　or　other　on　the　formulae　and　preparation　of　medicines；　to　which　I　had　added　much　matter　of　my　own　which　I　judged　to　be　not　without　utility；　and　the　same　fate　overtook　all　the　books　of　Galen　which　I　had　used　in　learning　anatomy；　and　which　I　had　liberally　disfigured　in　the　usual　fashion。　　I　was　on　the　point　of　leaving　Italy　and　going　to　Court；　those　physicians　you　know　of　had　made　to　the　Emperor　and　to　the　nobles　a　most　unfavourable　report　of　my　books　and　of　all　that　is　published　nowadays　for　the　promotion　of　study；　I　therefore　burnt　all　these　works　that　I　have　mentioned；　thinking　at　the　same　time　that　it　would　be　an　easy　matter　to　abstain　from　writing　for　the　future。　I　must　show　that　I　have　since　repented　more　than　once　of　my　impatience；　and　regretted　that　I　did　not　take　the　advice　of　the　friends　who　were　then　with　me。〃


There　is　no　such　pathetic　tragedy　in　the　history　of　our　profession。　Before　the　age　of　thirty　Vesalius　had　effected　a　revolution　in　anatomy；　he　became　the　valued　physician　of　the　greatest　court　of　Europe；　but　call　no　man　happy　till　he　is　dead！　A　mystery　surrounds　his　last　days。　The　story　is　that　he　had　obtained　permission　to　perform　a　post…mortem　examination　on　the　body　of　a　young　Spanish　nobleman；　whom　he　had　attended。　When　the　body　was　opened；　the　spectators　to　their　horror　saw　the　heart　beating；　and　there　were　signs　of　life！　　Accused；　so　it　is　said；　by　the　Inquisition　of　murder　and　also　of　general　impiety　he　only　escaped　through　the　intervention　of　the　King；　with　the　condition　that　he　make　a　pilgrimage　to　the　Holy　Land。　　In　carrying　this　out　in　1564　he　was　wrecked　on　the　island　of　Zante；　where　he　died　of　a　fever　or　of　exhaustion；　in　the　fiftieth　year　of　his　age。

To　the　North　American　Review；　November；　1902；　Edith　Wharton　contributed　a　poem　on　〃Vesalius　in　Zante；〃　in　which　she　pictures　his　life；　so　full　of　accomplishment；　so　full　of　regretsregrets　accentuated　by　the　receipt　of　an　anatomical　treatise　by　Fallopius；　the　successor　to　the　chair　in　Padua！　　She　makes　him　say：

There　are　two　ways　of　spreading　light；　to　be　The　candle　or　the　mirror　that　reflects　it。　I　let　my　wick　burn　outthere　yet　remains　To　spread　an　answering　surface　to　the　flame　That　others　kindle。

But　between　Mundinus　and　Vesalius；　anatomy　had　been　studied　by　a　group　of　men　to　whom　I　must；　in　passing；　pay　a　tribute。　The　great　artists　Raphael；　Michael　Angelo　and　Albrecht　Durer　were　keen　students　of　the　human　form。　　There　is　an　anatomical　sketch　by　Michael　Angelo　in　the　Ashmolean　Museum；　Oxford；　which　I　here　reproduce。＇*＇　Durer's　famous　work　on　〃Human　Proportion；〃　published　in　1528；　contains　excellent　figures；　but　no　sketches　of　dissections。　But　greater　than　any　of　these；　and　antedating　them；　is　Leonardo　da　Vinci；　the　one　universal　genius　in　whom　the　new　spirit　was　incarnatethe　Moses　who　alone　among　his　contemporaries　saw　the　promised　land。　How　far　Leonardo　was　indebted　to　his　friend　and　fellow　student；　della　Torre；　at　Pavia　we　do　not　know；　nor　does　it　matter　in　face　of　the　indubitable　fact　that　in　the　many　anatomical　sketches　from　his　hand　we　have　the　first　accurate　representation　of　the　structure　of　the　body。　Glance　at　the　three　figures　of　the　spine　which　I　have　had　photographed　side　by　side；　one　from　Leonardo；　one　from　Vesalius　and　the　other　from　Vandyke　Carter；　who　did　the　drawings　in　Gray's　〃Anatomy〃　（1st　ed。；　1856）。　They　are　all　of　the　same　type；　scientific；　anatomical　drawings；　and　that　of　Leonardo　was　done　fifty　years　before　Vesalius！　　Compare；　too；　this　figure　of　the　bones　of　the　foot　with　a　similar　one　from　Vesalius。＇24＇　Insatiate　in　experiment；　intellectually　as　greedy　as　Aristotle；　painter；　poet；　sculptor；　engineer；　architect；　mathematician；　chemist；　botanist；　aeronaut；　musician　and　withal　a　dreamer　and　mystic；　full　accomplishment　in　any　one　department　was　not　for　him！　A　passionate　desire　for　a　mastery　of　nature's　secrets　made　him　a　fierce　thing；　replete　with　too　much　rage！　　But　for　us　a　record　remains　Leonardo　was　the　first　of　modern　anatomists；　and　fifty　years　later；　into　the　breach　he　made；　Vesalius　entered。＇25＇


＇*＇　This　plate　was　lacking　among　the　author's　illustrations；　but　the　Keeper　of　the　Ashmolean　Museum　remembers　his　repeatedly　showing　special　interest　in　the　sketch　reproduced　in　John　Addington　Symonds's　Life　of　Michelangelo；　London；　1893；　Vol。　I；　p。　44；　and　in　Charles　Singer's　Studies　in　the　History　and　Method　of　Science；　Oxford；　1917；　Vol。　I；　p。　97；　representing　Michael　Angelo　and　a　friend　dissecting　the　body　of　a　man；　by　the　light　of　a　candle　fixed　in　the　body　itself。Ed。

＇24＇　He　was　the　first　to　make　and　represent　anatomical　cross　sections。　See　Leonardo：　　Quaderni　d'Anatomia；　Jacob　Dybwad；　Kristiania；　1911…1916；　Vol。　V。

＇25＇　See　Knox：　　Great　Artists　and　Great　Anatomists；　London；　1862；　and　Mathias　Duval　in　Les　Manuserits　de　Leonard　de　Vince：　De　l'Anatomie；　Feuillets　A；　Edouard　Rouveyre；　Paris；　1898。　For　a　good　account　of　Leonardo　da　Vinci　see　Merejkovsky's　novel；　The　Forerunner；　London；　1902；　also　New　York；　Putnam。


HARVEY

LET　us　return　to　Padua　about　the　year　1600。　　Vesalius；　who　made　the　school　the　most　famous　anatomical　centre　in　Europe；　was　succeeded　by　Fallopius；　one　of　the　best…known　names　in　anatomy；　at　whose　death　an　unsuccessful　attempt　was　made　to　get　Vesalius　back。　He　was　succeeded　in　1565　by　a　remarkable　man；　Fabricius　（who　usually　bears　the　added　name　of　Aquapendente；　from　the　town　of　his　birth）；　a　worthy　follower　of　Vesalius。　　In　1594；　in　the　thirtieth　year　of　his　professoriate；　he　built　at　his　own　expense　a　new　anatomical　amphitheatre；　which　still　exists　in　the　university　buildings。　It　is　a　small；　high…pitched　room　with　six　standing…rows　for　auditors　rising　abruptly　one　above　the　other。　The　arena　is　not　much　more　than　large　enough　for　the　dissecting　table　which；　by　a　lift；　could　be　brought　up　from　a　preparing　room　below。　The　study　of　anatomy　at　Padua　must　have　declined　since　the　days　of　Vesalius　if　this　tiny　amphitheatre　held　all　its　students；　none　the　less；　it　is　probably　the　oldest　existing　anatomical　lecture　room；　and　for　us　it　has　a　very　special　significance。

Early　in　his　anatomical　studies　Fabricius　had　demonstrated　the　valves　in　the　veins。　　I　show　you　here　two　figures；　the　first；　as　far　as　I　know；　in　which　these　structures　are　depicted。　It　does　not　concern　us　who　first　discovered　them；　they　had　doubtless　been　seen　before；　but　Fabricius　first　recognized　them　as　general　structures　in　the　venous　system；　and　he　called　them　little　doors〃ostiola。〃

The　quadrangle　of　the　university　building　at　Padua　is　surrounded　by　beautiful　arcades；　the　walls　and　ceilings　of　which　are　everywhere　covered　with　the　stemmata；　or　shields；　of　former　students；　many　of　them　brilliantly　painted。　Standing　in　the　arcade　on　the　side　of　the　〃quad〃　opposite　the　entrance；　if　one　looks　on　the　ceiling　immediately　above　the　capital　of　the　second　column　to　the　left　there　is　seen　the　stemma　which　appears　as　tailpiece　to　this　chapter；　put　up　by　a　young　Englishm