Searching for Scientific Truth

Forced to flee from his persecutors, Servetus changed his name to Villanovanus and settled in Paris, where he obtained degrees in art and medicine. His scientific curiosity led him to practice dissection in order to understand the workings of the human body. As a result, Servetus became perhaps the first European to describe the pulmonary circulation of blood. His findings were included in his work The Restitution of Christianity. Servetus’ comments were made 75 years before the complete circulatory system was described by William Harvey.

[Picture on page 20]

Servetus studied the pulmonary circulation of blood

[Credit Line]

Anatomie descriptive et physiologique, Paris, 1866-7, L. Guérin, Editor