Episode Details

Andreas Vesalius was born into a family of royal physicians, yet as a student in Paris he collected bones from cemeteries to study the real human skeleton. This deep dive follows him to the University of Padua, where he was appointed chair of surgery and anatomy on the day he graduated and abandoned the old method of reading Galen while others did the cutting.

We explore how Galen's anatomy was based largely on animals, the errors Vesalius corrected about the sternum, jaw, ribs, and heart, and the 1543 publication of De humani corporis fabrica with its remarkable woodcuts. We also cover the absurd defenses of his rival Jacobus Sylvius, the debunked Inquisition myth, and his death on Zakynthos at 49.

• Why Vesalius risked disgrace to obtain human bones in Paris
• How he transformed the way anatomy was taught at Padua
• The animal-based errors in Galen that went unchallenged for centuries
• The artistry and logistics behind printing the Fabrica in Basel
• Why rivals claimed the human body had degenerated rather than admit Galen was wrong