AT A GLANCE

In the late 16th century, when the world was getting away from the medieval thoughts and practices, William Harvey persuaded the study of human anatomy and achieved a milestone in the field of science. Equipped with meager means and inadequate facilities, but guided by his instinct and dedication for the research, Harvey discovered the blood circulation in human body and foetal blood circulation.

A physician by profession, William Harvey was not satisfied with prescribing medicines to his patients. His inquisitive mind always wanted to find out the root cause of the problem and eliminate it. Wherever he came across a doubt in the established findings, he went about to search the answers and to tie up the loose ends. He proved Claudis Galen’s (a Greco-Roman physician and his predecessor in the field) theory of blood circulation wrong by supplying more convincing data. By applying quantitative methods in his experiments for the first time, William Harvey made his findings fault free.

Everything about the human body intrigued him. His discoveries, put down in many of his books, helped a lot in understanding the workings of the human body. He stands as a lighthouse in the study of medicine, leading the way for many to come.