Three key Renaissance Doctors - Vesalius, Pare and Paracelsus

For  our purposes the Renaissance begins around 1450 to 1500 and lasts to 1750.  It was a period of great discovery and learning.  The term means revival or rediscovery - and refers to the rediscovery and new learning influenced by classical art.  This was also true of Medicine where the classical works of Hippocrates and Galen were investigated and challenged.  Three key people in doing this were; Vesalius, Pare and Harvey.  Below there are links that will take you to other sites that will give you key information on each that will help you make sure you have good notes.  However in short; Vesalius believed that the study of anatomy needed to be based on dissecting human bodies.  His books De humani corporis fabrica used realistic images drawn by artists; his study of the human jawbone was key evidence in proving that Galen was wrong.  Galen had claimed the bone was in two parts whereas Vesalius showed that it was one single piece. Pare developed a key surgical technique showing that improvements could  be made by dressing a wound and using ligatures to tie off veins and arteries.  This was much more effective than cauterizing the wound.  William Harvey proved that the heart was a pump and that the blood circulated through the body in a single direction.  All three provided key discoveries but these took time to be accepted.

This will take you to the BBC GCSE bitesize on surgery including a video.

Click here to find out more about Ambroise Pare

Oh - and don't forget Paracelsus - click here for the science museum biography and here for Britannica.