����tv

Vesalius, Paré and Harvey made great contributions to medical knowledge. They were able to carry out their work largely without hindrance. They had several advantages over those who had worked to advance medical knowledge in the periods before them:

• The Church was less influential. Scientists were able to adopt a more scientific approach that involved experiment, observation and recording results.
• They took advantage of the printing press to spread ideas. Harvey had his book published during the annual book fair in Frankfurt in Germany, knowing that people from all over Europe would be present.
• They had the support of influential people. Paré was doctor to four kings of France and Harvey two English kings, while Vesalius had the support of the authorities in Padua, northern Italy.

However, though progress had been made, there were still obstacles:

• Many doctors refused to accept the new knowledge. They continued to follow Galen and use traditional treatments.
• Paré was looked down upon because he was only a barber surgeon, not a university-trained doctor, and because he wrote his books in French and not Latin.
• Some patients were resistant to new ideas. Harvey told a friend that he lost many patients after 1628 because of his “crack-pot ideas”.

Though medical knowledge had moved forward, the impact on everyday health was limited. Knowledge of anatomy had improved, but surgery remained risky and patients died if ligatures were not clean.

Doctors had a much better knowledge of the heart and circulatory system. However, it was not until the 1890s that surgeons first operated to repair a damaged heart.