ANDREAS VESALIUS (1514-1564)

Vesalius has the distinction of having produced a treatise on the human anatomy so outstanding as to win the title of “the founder of modern anatomy.” His famous work, De fabrica humani corporis (1543), contains remarkable illustrations based on actual dissections and observations. A native of Brussels, Vesalius studied in Paris and taught anatomy at Padua. He spent his last years as a physician to Philip II of Spain in Madrid. Weakened by his travels returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he died in Zakynthos, Greece and was buried in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church.