Sunday, September 1, 2013

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Artist or the Anatomical Researcher?

By Alastair Sooke
August 28, 2013
bbc.com/culture

Leonardo da Vinci throughout his life produced no more than twenty paintings, which the whole world knows about and appreciates. However, for long periods of his career, which lasted close to fifty years, da Vinci wrote sketched detailed diagrams of the human anatomy. Da Vinci made many important discoveries such as the first accurate description of the human spine and the earliest known description of the cirrhosis of the liver. He spent years studying and dissecting cadavers, trying to understand how the human body functioned. He drew detailed sketches and explained how each organ operated. Perhaps the most impressive of all was his complete study of the human heart. He was the first person to discover that the heart had four chambers instead of two. Da Vinci also discovered that vortices helped close the aortic valve. Since he never published his research, these vital informations remained unknown for centuries. Da Vinci remains to this day a truly phenomenal human being because he was researcher and a scientist who could actually draw perfectly. This special talent gave him the ability to produce remarkable and detailed drawings of the human body and at the same time to explain how every part of the human body functioned.  Da Vinci’s extensive work, known as Anatomical Manuscripts, can be found in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.

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