Introduction to Medical School: A Lecture given by Andreas Vesalius
Vesalius:
Welcome to Introduction to the human
body for future physicians! I will not
talk about a method for a specific ailment today, but I will tell you
about the
triple system, a method that is necessary for almost all ailments. You will find that for nearly all diseases,
the physician must use three remedies.
First, the physician must recommend an appropriate diet. When the disease prevails, appropriate
medications should be used. Finally,
manual work, such as surgery, urine analyses, etc should be completed
to assure
the disease is correctly assessed. Does
anyone have questions about this system?
Students:
How would
this system work for
heart disease?
Vesalius:
First, physicians must have their patient
started on a healthy diet to maintain a healthy heart.
In the event of disease, a physician will
examine the heart to find the source of the problem and prescribe the
proper
medicines to regain heart health. Examining
the heart will also indicate if surgery is necessary.
This brings up an issue that I would like to
focus on. An important aspect of the
three-fold system is the knowledge of natural causes.
Physicians must understand the human body, so
I would like to use this lecture to introduce everyone to one part of
the human
body, the skeleton! Now, as you can see, I have here a model skeleton:
I would like everyone to observe as I
explain the various bones of the human skeleton. Later
each student will have a chance to
examine and identify various bones on their own. Our
focus today is the bones of the human
body, but our focus for the entire course is becoming familiar with all
of the
parts of the human body. Therefore, we
will move on to dissection and different parts of the body later in the
year. It is extremely important to dissect
over and over again and become familiar with the human body. Without a solid understanding of all the
structures in the human body, every muscle, every nerve, a physician
has no
base from which to practice medicine.
Does anyone have questions before I go on
Vesalius:
Of course! Anymore questions?
Student 2:
My family physician never performs the
treatments himself; he has assistants for this.
Why is it necessary that we dissect?
Vesalius:
Look to the example of Hippocrates and
Galen. The great ancient physicians
performed the surgery’s themselves; they did not have servants for this
task! Why, you ask? Well,
for the simple reason that medicine
requires complex understanding of the body, and physicians acquire this
knowledge and are the only ones suited to apply this knowledge. Furthermore, the triple system I described
requires that the physician performs these three tasks!
It takes away from the prestige of this profession
when servants are performing our tasks.
Therefore, it is very important that all students dissect.
Understand?
Student
2: Yes, I am
just worried about
dissection.
Vesalius:
Well, there is no need to be
worried! I will provide ample
instruction before I let you proceed.
Okay, everyone gather around as I began explaining the major
bones for
today’s lecture. Tomorrow, we will each
get a chance to identify various bones, and next week we will have a
practical
examination. First, we have the skull…
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author’s Note
This
is a fake class demonstration given by Andreas Vesalius.
I wrote this demonstration to highlight
Vesalius’s method. This lecture explains
how Vesalius approached medical knowledge and the factors he stressed
in his
writings and teachings. These facts
presented are supported by several sources on Andreas Vesalius. The most important fact to draw from this
episode is Vesalius’s role in bringing anatomy to the forefront of
medical
education. To gain more insight on
Vesalius and his works, please visit these websites:
Primary Source
₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪
Sources:
Image of Andreas Vesalius
Website: Antiqua Medicina
Weblink: http://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/antiqua/texth.htm
Image of Skeleton
Website: Antiqua Medicina
Weblink: http://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/antiqua/texth.htm
Vesalius, Andreas. De Humani Corporis Fabrica. http://vesalius.northwestern.edu. This website provided a primary source written by Vesalius that was helpful in writing this episode.
"Vesalius" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesalius. This website provided background information about Andreas Vesalius's life and philosophy.