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The discovery of pulmonary circulation: From Imhotep to William Harvey - PubMed

  • ️Wed Jan 01 2014

Review

. 2014 Jun 18;2014(2):103-16.

doi: 10.5339/gcsp.2014.31. eCollection 2014.

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Review

The discovery of pulmonary circulation: From Imhotep to William Harvey

Mohamed ElMaghawry et al. Glob Cardiol Sci Pract. 2014.

Abstract

In his quest to comprehend his existence, Man has long been exploring his outer world (macro-cosmos), as well as his inner world (micro-cosmos). In modern times, monmental advances in the fields of physics, chemistry, and other natural sciences have reflected on how we understand the anatomy and physiology of the human body and circulation. Yet, humanity took a long and winding road to reach what we acknowledge today as solid facts of cardiovascular physiology. In this article, we will review some of the milestones along this road.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Hieroglyphic depictions of the heart: (A) The early depiction of the heart with 8 vessels connected to it. (B) The simpler jar-shaped depiction of the heart used after the third Dynasty.

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

The four humours of Hippocratic medicine are the black bile (melan chole), bile (chole), phlegm (phlegm), and blood (haima).

Figure 3.
Figure 3.

Cardiovascular models over the course of time. (A) Erasistratus' model (B) Galen's model (C) Colombo's model (D) Harvey's model. Reference: Arid WC. Discovery of the cardiovascular system: from Galen to William Harvey. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 9 (suppl. 1).

Figure 4.
Figure 4.

Claudius Galenus, better known as Galen of Pergamon (129–207?).

Figure 5.
Figure 5.

(A) A sketch of ox's heart by Leonardo da Vinci. Many of da Vinci's heart drawings were made from studies of the organs of pigs and oxen. Only later in his life that he had access to human organs. The script was written in the famous mirror-image da Vinci's style. The sketch is one of Windsor Folios, part of the Royal Collection, Windsor, UK. (B) From the same collection, a sketch of human's heart by Leonardo, where the interventricular pores are clearly depicted according to Galen's anatomy.

Figure 6.
Figure 6.

Michael Servetus (A), also known as Miguel Serveto (1509–1553), was a Spanish Theologian and Humanist. In his theological treatise, “Christianismo restituti” (The Restoration of Christianity) (B), he first described the function of pulmonary circulation in the Western world. The “Christianismo Restituti” was condemned by Catholics and Protestants alike.

Figure 7.
Figure 7.

Andreas Vesalius (A) (1514–1564), as a Professor of Anatomy at the University of Padua, he laid the foundations of modern anatomy with his masterpiece “De Humani Corporis Fabrica” (B).

Figure 8.
Figure 8.

Realdo Colombo, anatomy professor at the University of Padua, decribed the pulmonary circulation around the same time as Servetus.

Figure 9.
Figure 9.

During his professorship in Anatomy in Padua of Fabrizio d'Aquapendente (A) (1537–1619), the first stable anatomical theatre in the world was built. This anatomical theatre is still present at Palazzo Del Bo at the University of Padua (B).

Figure 10.
Figure 10.

Andrea Cesalpino (1519–1603).

Figure 11.
Figure 11.

William Harvey (1578–1657) (A). Engravings published by Harvey in De motu cordis proving by two types of tourniquets that the blood enters the limb by arteries and returns from it by veins. The first tourniquet is a tight tourniquet with reduced arterial blood flow to the limb, resulting in loss of pulse on the wrist and a cold hand. The arteries proximal to the ligature beome distended. The second tourniquet is medium – tight tourniquet with unimpaired arterial flow to the limb, but with reduced venous return, resulting in distended veins on the limbs and the hand become swollen and blue (B).

Figure 12.
Figure 12.

With the help of the newly invented microscope, Marcello Malpighi (A) (1628–1694) solidified Harvey's concepts and was the first man ever to describe the pulmonary capillaries and alveoli (B).

Figure 13.
Figure 13.

Avicenna's Canon of Medicine (ElKanon Fe ElTeb) was completed in 1025. The five volume book encompassed most of the medical knowledge of the time.

Figure 14.
Figure 14.

Nur al-Din Bimaristan is a large medieval bimaristan in Damascus, Syria. It is located in the al-Hariqa quarter in the old walled city, to the southwest of the Umayyad Mosque. It was built and named after the Zengid Sultan Nur al-Din in 1154. It was restored in 1975 and now houses the Museum of Medicine and Science in the Arab World.

Figure 15.
Figure 15.

The road to the discovery of circulation.

Figure 16.
Figure 16.

A photograph of the first page of the commentary on the Canon of Avicenna by Ibn Al-Nafis. Source: Zeidan Y. The rediscovery of Ibn Al-Nafis. 2008. ISBN: 9971442120.

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