William Harvey (AQA GCSE History)

How important was William Harvey to the development of medicine in the Renaissance? - Summary

William Harvey was very important to the development of medicine during the Renaissance because he discovered how blood circulates around the body. He proved that the heart acts as a pump, pushing blood through arteries and veins in a continuous loop. This challenged Galen's earlier ideas, which claimed that the liver produced blood and that it was 'used up' by the body. Harvey conducted experiments and used careful observations to demonstrate his findings. His discovery was groundbreaking and changed how people understood the human body.

However, Harvey's discovery had limited practical use during the Renaissance. Physicians still did not understand why blood circulation was important for treating diseases, as they lacked knowledge about germs and infections. Additionally, some physicians were reluctant to accept Harvey's ideas because they contradicted Galen’s teachings. Despite this, Harvey's work laid the foundation for modern medicine. His discovery eventually became crucial for developments in surgery such as blood transfusions and how chemical cures worked.

Who was William Harvey?

• Harvey was an English physician who, by 1618, was doctor to King James I

• Harvey showed an interest in anatomy and was taught Vesalius’ theory

  • He carried out public dissections as a lecturer of anatomy at the College of Physicians, London

What did Harvey discover?

• Harvey wrote An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals in 1628

• In his study, Harvey discovered that the heart worked like a mechanical fire pump

• The heart pushes the blood around the body through arteries and veins, linked together in the circulation system

  • Harvey proved this by tying a rope around a person’s arm - loosening the rope demonstrated how the blood flowed down into the forearm and then back up the arm

• He also disproved Galen’s theory that the liver created blood

  • He calculated that, if Galen was right, a human would need to make 1800 litres of blood a day to survive

Significance of Harvey

Short-term significance

• A lot of Renaissance physicians ignored his work as it had limited use in medical treatment

• Universities only began to use medical textbooks which contained his work from 1673

Long-term significance

• Harvey's book on the human heart was a breakthrough in anatomy

• His work encouraged other scientists to use bodies to make more progress in understanding the body

  • For example, how was blood made?

• The understanding of the circulation system helped to develop blood transfusions in the 19th and 20th centuries