William harvey when was he born

In , he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and, in , was appointed physician to St Bartholomew's Hospital.

In , he became physician to Elizabeth's successor James I and to James' son Charles when he became king. Both James and Charles took a close interest in and encouraged Harvey's research. Harvey's research was furthered through the dissection of animals. He first revealed his findings at the College of Physicians in , and in he published his theories in a book entitled 'Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus' 'An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals' , where he explained how the heart propelled the blood in a circular course through the body.

His discovery was received with great interest in England, although it was greeted with some scepticism on the Continent. Harvey was also the first to suggest that humans and other mammals reproduced via the fertilisation of an egg by sperm.

It took a further two centuries before a mammalian egg was finally observed, but nonetheless Harvey's theory won credibility during his lifetime.

Harvey retained a close relationship with the royal family through the English Civil War and witnessed the Battle of Edgehill. Harvey also established several of his own conclusions about theories of generation. First, he denounced spontaneous generation by claiming that even maggots and worms have some origin in eggs. This example is also associated with the establishment of the doctrine ex ovo omnia , meaning that all life originates from an egg , a doctrine that Harvey helped advance.

Moreover, in chapter 51, Harvey expressed support for the theory of epigenesis , rather than preformation , through his description of the formation of limbs.

Last, he rejected the Aristotelian and Galenic theories about early embryogenesis. Aristotle believed that embryos form from the combination of menstrual blood and semen , while Galen believed it was female semen and male semen.

In addition to providing new information about conception and early human development Harvey also criticized many of his predecessors, particularly his old master Fabricius. Harvey died in London on 3 June Though his work in embryology was overshadowed by his work on the circulatory system, Harvey did provide a basis for the development of modern embryology.

William Harvey By: Angel Lopez. Keywords: Biography , Circulation. William Harvey Renowned physician and scientist William Harvey is best known for his accurate description of how blood circulates through the body. Sources Bylebyl, Jerome E. Chauvois, Louis. New York: Philosophical Library, Keele, Kenneth D. Trevor I. Williams, — De motu cordis was a landmark in the history of science. In it Harvey demonstrated the circulation of blood in animals, thus giving a firm foundation for the scientific development of the health professions.

It must have been composed at different times, for the introduction is more vigorous, and in its critical attitude more youthful, than any of the rest of the 17 chapters. Harvey's De generatione ; On the Generation of Animals pioneered modern embryology and comparative sex psychology. This work was important in holding that the embryo builds gradually from its parts, rather than existing preformed in the ovum.

His studies here were balked by the same difficulty which beset him in his studies on the circulation: he had no microscope. He could neither demonstrate directly how blood would move from arteries to veins, although he postulated the capillary anastomoses, nor could he see directly how the embryo gradually aggregated. In most cases the demonstration was completed by Marcello Malpighi, the great Italian biologist, who was one of the first to have and use a microscope.

In appeared the first English edition of De motu cordis, and Harvey's genius was fully recognized. He gave buildings and a library to the Royal College of Physicians, although he refused its presidency.